A Real Humdinger

Some New Stuff

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:34:17 GMT

I've got two new works of art done

first one is the painting of the sketch from my previous journal entry I decided to title it "Love Story" only because it's just fitting, especially for the finished results. I did kinda go over the sketch before painting just to fix up anything I found off or just irritating lol. Anyways here's the finished version

With this one I went for a scrap book kind of look using an old book texture,and deciding to paint the portrait in sepia tones instead of the originally planned color palette. I'm happy with it and I added the rose petals for a special effect but more so because roses are a symbolic representation of their relationship. Being that William used to leave them anonymously when he was regarded as her secret admirer.

The next work of art is actually one I recently finished tonight, and also one I've been wanting to do but couldnt quite figure out what direction to go with it. This one features the Zyrian trio and it's titled "Prophecy" It shows them in their villainous glory along with their god like alias. The alias from which they were associated with when they first came to earth. This is part of their long background history and whatnot.
Arzel's alias is the Egyptian goddess of war, Sekhmet. She's an all powerful female who strikes fear into the hearts of those who worship her, and this describes Arzel perfectly. She's a powerful female commander who isn't afraid of Zoal, and would gladly fight him if given the chance.
Bhor's alias is the god of the dead; Anubis, and this is because he is regarded as a priest
Last but not least Zoal is regarded as "Horus", the god of the sky or "one above all" He is also considered a war god. His brother Krotez was regarded as "Ra" god of the sun, the most important god of them all, and that is what he became once he took over as the ruler of Egypt.

In other news I am proud to announce that all my hard days of work has finally paid off, and I just ordered my wacom cintiq! shipping is free.. oh yeah for $999 it better be! So I'm excited about that, and also I took some photos of Boo to share with the rest of the world... here he is!

doesnt care much for the camera lol
here he is in a little ball

he's a cutie :D I hope to get some better ones later on, if he lets me that is!

update

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:26:36 GMT

I've been busy with work but I've made time for Atlantech too, and I'm working on finishing chapter 17 is it? lol yes it's 17... working on the panels for 9 & 10
decided to do a two page update this time, since I didn't get to the last time and in between working on new artwork cause the comic, artwork and a lot of other stuff is going to be put together for a book project for some time next year so I'm trying to get as much material as I can put into it.

I was hoping to have it all done by comic con 2010 but as of right now, I don't know if that's possible... just depends on how much I get done I guess...

anyways here's the latest work of art I've done

titled "Effloresce" featuring a profile portrait of Lynne Williams in an art nouveau style frame. The title is an analogy to describe how the character is changing or "blooming" finally opening up to the truth, and realizing the responsibility she will have to take on. Chapter 17 will explain much of this, but Lynne is coming to terms with an ugly truth and realizing there will be a lot of changes.
Perhaps changes she doesn't feel she is ready for to say the least..
The piece alone took me longer than I had planned, it was at least two week before I actually finished colouring it. lots of sacrificed hours to try and finish it.
I'm also thinking of remaking a few old images... one of the Zyrians for sure, I also want to do something else with them, especially since their debut in the comic isn't too far off now. I might even release another sketch dump, just copy and paste a bunch together as I go, since it's been a while since I last made one. Sketches only... no color this time.
speaking of no color... here is a preview of yet another work of art I have planned

It doesn't have a title yet lol, usually I come up with titles as I colour them but this is something I've been wanting to do as of lately. I realize since William and Victoria are officially together in the story, it would be nice to illustrate it. Not sure how long this will take to paint, but it should be fun, as I even plan to do something with the textures of this similar to what I did with Victoria's stand-alone portrait. It's just asking for that vintage, grungy finish =]

Anyways in non Atlantech related news, I've been indulging in my other weakness... video games! Yes I am quite the gamer.. I love FPS games and have found myself in love with valves left 4 dead series, just so much fun to play and I recently bought the latest game left 4 dead 2 and I love it. I've been playing it more than I have been working on my project.. WHOOPS ah well I'm still making time for it, it's still my first love! But holy crap I am usually not the type of person to go fangirly over anything, but the one character named Ellis from left 4 dead 2 is just so god damn adorable, and I always find myself choosing him over the others.. it's got to be that stereo type redneck voice.. yeah that's what it is... or just half but he is so cute I've fallen victim to the fangirl syndrome... how can it be?

oh that's why haha

le sigh

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:56:17 GMT

Well this is going to be an interesting post.....

so bear with me if you will..... anyways recently a so-called friend of mine got upset with me last night because I told him I didn't like the swimsuit type model he based a lead female character on. I told him I just thought it made her unrealistic, if that's indeed what she looks like. I mean why do all female leads have to look like models with big racks? I know I might sound like some kind of feminist here, but I just get tired of all female characters having to look like that just to get noticed, or because it is the author's vision of what women should look like. He's a friend so it makes things much more complicated, but am I wrong for thinking that?
I mean it's not that big of deal but it still hurt his feelings because I said I wished he had used someone better for his inspiration than some chick he saw at a coffee shop, that wouldn't even acknowledge his presence.
But he's a guy and that's his fantasy or whatever. I don't think he had the right to get mad at me for it, nor do I think my opinion should matter, but either way his feelings are hurt and I am the bad guy. Man I should really learn to keep my opinions to myself huh? And on top of everything he's even more mad at me because I refused to draw fanart for his story. I'm sorry, but I just don't have that kind of time anymore, I'm busy enough with my own projects, taking care of my pets, the house, and handling two part time jobs.
he's just too sensitive and can't handle the slightest bit of criticism *sigh* but no matter what I say, I'm still the bad guy in this.

Update

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:28:20 GMT

Well I'm certainly doing better, in fact I finished page 8 of the comic right before Halloween and started work on the panels for 9

Vicky and Maxwell argue like a married couple I swear lol

Working on Chapter 17 on the side, it's going to be one of the most intense chapters I think.

Also, I am very happy to say I've got my new bird, unfortunately the girl I was going to get was gone but they had a new one, a male peach face lovebird and so I took him instead. They told me he was hand fed just hasn't been handled a whole lot so I'm going to have to work with him. I can do that, I've tamed a parakeet before, so I'm sure I can do the same with this guy. I named him Boo after the ghost from the mario games, which I've clearly been playing too much of on my DS. He's still getting used to everything, but he's exploring his new cage and it's fun to watch him cause he's a little dork. He also likes blueberries so I've nicknamed him Boo Berry lol

anyways I'm hoping I won't take as long with the update for page 9 as I did with 8. Sometimes things just come up and I find myself in a slump. I've also got new artwork planned, well half planned, the design is in my head I've yet to transfer it to the digital canvas. I do want to do something with the Zyrians, I just need to come up with that perfect idea.

oh crap

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:42:25 GMT

Well last week was certainly a drag,

I finally got into the mood to work on page 8 of the comic.. only three or four more panels to go and then I hear the news that all three of my parakeets died. They had been kept at my boyfriends parents house until we finally had room to bring them here and well that just didn't work out. And to think I was excited about having them here... too quiet sometimes *sigh* and I know some jerks would say "they're just birds", well yes I'm quite aware of that but they were special to me, and were my precious little babies and I'll miss them. Especially the oldest, he somehow managed to outdo the typical parakeet lifespan by four years. I mean I knew he'd be the first to go, but all three of them? No idea what killed them either, which is what bothers me the most, but I'm guessing Chipper (the oldest) got sick and possibly infected the other two, I mean that's got to be the only explanation. Ah well, they will be missed and so will my fish that died the previous week.

I didn't expect it but it sure put a halt to my progress on the comic or anything else rather, but alas there's good news yet... my boyfriend told me I can get another bird and I've already picked one out, and she's a peach face lovebird :D hand fed by the way so she's tame and I can hold her. I'm getting her cage and supplies on Thursday and then this coming monday I get to bring her home. I'm so excited too hehe, well hopefully this excitement helps me get back into the mood to finish page 8 and then some. It just sucks that I get so emotionally attached to my pets, cause when they die I'm a wreck. But I'm not getting parakeets anymore, they just don't live that long especially the small ones. I'm also done with fish until I get a bigger place... just surprised the last fish I had lived as long as it did. He lived 1 year something I did not expect.

I'm glad I still have my little dog, I even told him "don't you die on me next!" lol nah he wont hes only 7, and has another 8 years left :] I take good care of him, even though most of his trips to the vet cost me a fortune *sigh*

Well its time to get back to work, its been rough but things will get better, something I've always believed in

This song has been most helpful in dealing with that

Lots O updates

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:28:03 GMT

I've still been sick, but dammit, I have not let that get in the way of my work!

Chapter 16 is now up!

Tons of new profile pictures

I'm so damn close to being finished

Stan Winston

Maxwell Graham

Brian Smith

& last but not least... Mr. Ace of Spades himself!

Justin Church

now i've got a few others to do, but I'm so close

to being finished...

Anyways, My website got yet another makeover, lots of browns... It was tough deciding between Brown or Blue but I figured the brown would have more of a sophisticated feel to it. I've also utilized some of the profile images and made a nice banner for the site, which is Sepia toned to match the rest of the brown mess!

I've made a smaller size which I will add to the site later, which others can use on their site, but here it is

I also got a new logo too, I like this one much better than the previous forms.

Anyways moving on... I decided to have a little fun with experimenting in the art department. I've done Robotech fanart, drawing and painting those characters in my style, so I decided to do an ol switcharoo and draw the Atlantech characters in the Robotech or "macross saga style". I really do admire Mikimotos character designs and so I thought this would be fun to try.

here are the results of this experiment

Stan Winston

Still looks evil, I could just see Lynn Kyle running from him hehe

Now here's William Sterling

Looks like he'd fit right in with the RDF, although

Max Sterling would wonder why his hair is blue too!

Now for Justin Church

Even in this style he still looks mischievous as ever

Now for the trio: Lucy, Grace, & Mipsy

This one is probably my favorite... dunno why but it is!

and yes I've miss Thompson of course, I'd be a fool not to!

That isn't all of them, those are just the ones I go to

I do plan on doing more, especially the Zyrians.. this should be interesting!

speaking of the Zyrians, I've done a nice illustration for Chapter 16

not an actual scene, more like a teaser, but anyways here is Khan and Ahtor in their

disguises!

Lots of Art Deco in the background..... Well they're now "citizens" of Atlantis City, and they need to blend in right? well of course, minus the fact they've still got those earrings and the egyptian eyeliner! So far they've been pretty interesting for me to work with, it will be nice to see what happens in the end.... for the readers hehe, as I already know everything ;)

Now before I wrap this post up I do have another piece of art to post, and this one I had been messing around with as it was developing in sketch form that is. I wasnt exactly sure what I wanted to do with this one, I mean I had planned it but I just never knew what approach to take until I began looking at the artwork of some of my favorite artists. Alot of my favorites were well known for their beautiful vintage pin up girl art, artists such as Henry Clive which is by far one my favorites! here is one of the sites I love to look it, and where I get a lot of inspiration from hehe. Beautiful works there, especially take a look at Clives girls.

Anywho, this next work of art I've named "Portraiture". Yes, the works that really mean a lot to me are the ones I've given names.

but behold, here is my new portrait of Victoria Thompson

I love how this one turned out, it was kind of unusual working with tones that I normally don't but the end results were well worth it to me. I would like to do something similar with Xxionia, but I just need to decide what would work best for her character.

Well that about wraps it up for this post! lots of updates, hope those of you who read this shenanigans enjoy what you see. There will be more ;]

-HP-

updating this for the heck of it

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:49:28 GMT

I've been sick as of lately, damn sinus infection so I've had headaches, tooth aches and all kinds of pain. Granted it's not as bad as it was before... when I just felt weak and tired all the time and had no motivation at all. god I hate when that happens.
anyways not a whole lot going on with me, just trying to get back into my working mode, I've finished more character profiles, completely redid Victoria's because I found the first one to be lacking something.
here's the latest two
William Sterling & Victoria

Still more to go................I'm also going to rewrite some of the old profile descriptions to get up to
date with the current status of the story. Hey it's almost been two years, why the heck not? lol
Still working on the comic, tempted to do some more scripting revisions before I continue, but only because I've got better ideas in mind.
Chapter 16 is still in progress, I ended up taking a break from it because I'm not always in the right mood to write, and I don't want those moods affecting the story. Like for example, I'll be bored or tired, so I'd end up writing a boring scene with little or no initiative at all. Yeah I have far too much appreciation for the story to let that happen, so I'll wait till I'm in the right mood.

speaking of moods, I've found that I'm more at ease when I'm listening to certain songs, I guess it just relaxes the imagination or something.
and I've come to realize that I've fallen in love with this song

I'm already addicted to this genre of music as it is, but certain songs have more of an appeal to me

this one's already stuck in my head. Yes I know the title seems like a misspelling, but that's how it was when I first got it, so I went with it.

update

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:20:39 GMT

finished page 7 of the comic

here it is

working on 8, 9, 10 & 11 next

Also I've got a forum for my site

it's new so its not that active yet, anyways here's a slew of avatars I've made for it.

Can these be used anywhere else? Yes, the more the merrier, just be sure to credit me :]

meh

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:34:51 GMT

Well, I am still dealing with the same drama but it has died down somewhat....I think

however, I am trying to reason with some of these people, but we'll see if that pays off in the end

on another note I finished chapter 15 a week ago and just now got to posting it on FF. It's a little longer

than previous chapters but I guess that's a good thing right? Beware, there's a lot of foreshadowing and Zyrian language lol. I actually give the readers more background to the race, via their culture and the hell they endured in the past.

and before I say anything else, because I know someone will probably ask me, but yes Stan uses a holographic projector to create his human guise, the only parts of him that are "real" is his uniform and the belt and shoes. So basically hes just a robot in human's clothes. hope that makes sense now.

Also I've come up with a new method to approaching the comic-ing process, I've started writing the scripts for more than one page. Before I'd just do one at a time which is why I'd get slowed down because I wouldn't know how to approach the following page and so on. So as of now I've got the scripts for 8, 9, 10 & 11! And as I go, I'll just keep writing them so it makes it easier to follow. This way I can also read over them obsessively like I normally do, and change what I don't like.

Quite a long update

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:19:26 GMT

Well this update is going to be long as heck, and why? because I've got a lot to talk about for one. Over the past few weeks myself and some friends have found ourselves in a never ending battle. Pro HG fans VS Anti HG fans, silly I know but sadly this is what the Robotech fandom has come to ever since the release of TSC, a mediocre film that took years to make, and left die hard fans in extreme anticipation. Only once a lot of these fans (including myself) watched the film, we were highly disappointed. But of course, there were also those who liked the movie and now there is going to be a sequel *shudder* I didn't like the first one, so it's apparent I won't give a damn about the second *sigh* Not going to get into the reasons why I didn't like it, too many to state however I will say that the difference of opinion doesn't seem to matter to some fans, and because of this it leads to pointless fighting.

And because of the direction RT is going right now, I do not support HG in fact I am against what they've done, and this has caused quite a few individuals to turn on me. My opinion, I am entitled to it, however a certain someone does not see it that way and has taken the liberty of removing any posts I've made on RTX or RT.com where I am criticizing HG and their cheap ass movie (sorry for the language) There's a lot more but I'm not going to touch it, instead I created a new RT community for a bunch of people I've gotten to know and like. So it became our own forum, for our art, and our fiction with the option to freely criticize HG. Well in attempt to gain more members, myself and another friend and member, went ahead and made announcements. It was going smoothly at first, but once someone who disagreed with our criticism pointed it out (while trolling us), one of the moderators sided with the trolls and deleted our posts out of spite. <facepalm>

Tired of this malarky, I had taken the liberty to remove myself from RTX, as I do not wish to be associated with a site that does not live up to its meaning, nor allow the diversity of opinions. Now I didn't even bother to post a long ass farewell ( I hate those) I just made a quick post saying I'm gone and left it at that. I'm still getting nasty PMS on that site from a few unstable individuals, but I'm also getting responses from people who are upset that I made that decision. Well to them I'm sorry, but when I make a choice, I stick with it. It is kind of sad because I was one of the top contributors there, but apparently what I did wasn't enough to spare the hatred.

Now that I've gotten the drama out of my system (for now) I had been working on my project, trying to finish chapter 15 and trying complete the rest of the profile images. sadly all of this calamitous dribble has put a halt on my production phase and for that I am rather furious, as it should not have that affect.

Despite those issues I have managed to update the website but I am a little ticked I can't get it to look a certain way. But right now the website is not my top priority so it will have to suffice for now.

In other news I found a new publisher for the my next book project. This one I am doing all by myself, so it should be interesting.

Lot O' Updates

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:05:37 GMT

Ever since Comic con ended, I had been getting back to my schedule I had made for myself, while making an effort to get as much of it completed of course. A lot of what I put on that to-do list were projects I had been wanting to do for the longest time, but never quite got around to them. Well I'm glad that has changed!

Here's one of the first things I've been working on. New profile images for the website.

Xxionia Arzel Victoria

And Lynne

Many more to do!

I've started a new addition where there's a feature for the fashion of Atlantis City. Much like the Sentinels swimsuit edition of Robotech, but without the creepyness O_O I couldn't sleep at night when I first saw it... anyways

here's the first design I've done for that segment.

Victoria in an elegant almond green silk dress.

These will be done in the style of the old fashion adverts, particularly the ones in my books. I really like how they are presented so I will emulate that style ;) Fashion is one thing I find incredibly fun to work with, especially those of Atlantis City of course!

Now moving on, I've recently completed page 6 of the comic. Was put on hold due to working on other things and artwork for comic con and what not. But here it is!

poor Maxwell, he should know that women take forever to get ready for anything XD

not to mention Justin is in for a big surprise.

Page 7 is next on my to-do list!

Comic Con and other goodies

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:09:01 GMT

Well comic con 09 is officially on for this weekend and so far some of the pictures have been really neat. almost makes me want to be there heh. In other news I finally finished chapter 14 got it posted on the site and FF.net. Took me a while because I was in a slump and found myself busy with others things, but I'm going to be more flexible with my schedules from now on! Page 6 of the comic is still in progress and I hope to have that complete by the end of next week. I've started writing chapter 15 (the story is really starting to take off now) so far I like what I'm doing with it, I feel it's important to explore other elements, one in particular the Zyrian's culture. We know enough about the mannerisms of Atlantis XD

Also my site has undergone a lot of changed, some things were deleted, others just updated. Right now the profiles page is down because I am working on that. I'm re-writing some of the bios and of course I've got new pictures planned, so that's another task of mine.

Right now I am bothering a buddy of mine for pics of my stuff at comic con hehe, I want to see!!! The excitment is killing me XD

New Art

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:22:18 GMT

I've been in an art frenzy lately, working on different pictures, but I'd say that's a good thing

because there are times when I want to paint something, but just don't have the motivation or desire to. So I've been taking advantage of this precious time and getting the most out of it :D

The first picture I did is actually more of a teaser for the AMF mechs, or fighter jets as I call them because they don't transform. With Atlantech I'm trying to stray away from the macross origins, and do something different this time. Besides in the Atlantech universe there really is no use for transformable mecha, the aliens aren't giants this time. Anyways I managed to come up with a nice design for this image, in the form of a playing card and of course I used Justin church.

so here it is!

He is known as the "Ace of Spades" so it was only appropriate that I went with this design. He is also the first pilot to decorate his jet, thus starting a trend with the other guys later on *gasp* I just gave away some spoilers! Oh well... I didn't explain everything so never fear! But anyway, this is more of a teaser than an actual first look. I normally don't draw any character or machine until it makes its debut in the story, that's just how I am. I like to introduce things as I go along, hopefully that makes sense, I am very nonsensical most of the time.

And yes, the fighter jets coloring and markings match that of their pilot's suits. I just had to do it that way and couldnt think of any better way to do it. White was on the brain but then I thought, there's enough white in the robotech series as is, why not some metal gray? So there you have it, Justin Church in all his devious glory, showing off his mech. One comment I recieved was "it doesnt look very futuristic" I should of slapped them silly lol, Atlantech is far from futuristic, I mean victoria has a record player in her room, not yet revealed though till later in the comic. You can only do so much with futuristic designs and chances are, they've been done before you got to them, which is why I decided to give Atlantis City a more infringing style, the vinage look works, better than anything else I could come up with. Believe me, I did plenty of brainstorming and daydreaming before I made anything official. The actual message in Atlantech should be clear as day and that message is "History repeats itself" and it does, humanity is pretty much starting all over in the year 4000.

Now on to the next work of art *giggle snort*

Victoria as a pin-up girl, in one of her stylish pairs of 20s bloomers. Lingerie if you want to be blunt =p And yes I know her boobs are small, she is small breasted but does have quite some hips on her. a lot of women in that era tried to look as lithe and boyish as possible and this included flattening the chests with the use of corsets, but some like vicky are lucky and don't have to worry about that. Besides if she had a big chest she couldnt fit into that gorgeous gold dress of hers, or any of her outfits for that matter. I guess this is kind of step foreward, everyone is so used to female characters with big racks, that this is a breath of fresh air for us girls who think the size shouldnt matter, you can be beautiful without having a large rack. It's just too bad that's not what Robotech The Shadow Chronicles taught us.

The Comicing Process

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:13:22 GMT

cross posted from my Blog

Just a guide I use when working on the webcomic and thought I'd share it.

The comic process

already at 5 pages of the Atlantech web comic, so I figured I'd explain the whole process.

I try to update as much as possible, but sometimes there's a down side and I'm unable to work on it, due to personal life anyways.

But this is the step by step guide I use when it comes to working on it.
first and foremost, before doing any artwork I've got to know which setting I'm working with and the dialogue that will be used.

Step 1: Brainstorming
It's very important to give yourself some time to think up ideas for your creation. What I like to do is come up with good ideas for scenes, which also includes dialogue. Then when I've got some idea of what I want, I'll open up word pad and begin typing it all out. I kind of do it in a screen play fashion, it just makes it easier to follow.

Step 2. The dialogue
When you've got a whole cast of characters, it's important to give each one a unique personality, which also needs to show through their dialogue. What they say reflects on the type of character they are, and it also helps the reader with getting to know and understand them better. Since you're the creator of these characters, only you know what they will say and how they will react :]
that's just one of the great things about creating your own universe. You know everything, and the reader doesn't =p
anyways I type out the dialogue in key scenes, in that same screen play format, and then I go over it a few times. I have to visualize each scene as I am going back over it so that I make sure it's exactly what I want. However, a lot of the times I'll write something down and then later on completely change it, even at the last minute. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just shows that over time, you're able to come up with something better. Improvement is always a good thing, never a downfall.

Step 3. Sketching the Panels
This is probably the most time consuming part of the whole process, because as an artist you're so eager to translate what you see in your mind to the canvas, sometimes you find yourself either erasing or completely starting over. The way I do it is I sketch each one individually save it, then go back to add color later on. When drawing scenes, it's important to refer to the dialogue you'll be using, so you know just how to present the characters. Expression is a major factor, because it's important for your reader to understand what's going on, not to mention it also helps with character development and helps to establish the mood of the scene. Posing is also important, as is the perspective. I won't explain the whole drawing process, because that's not the purpose of this guide, but when coming up with the visuals, it's easy to see just how you're going to want everything. So, just draw it as you see it :] and if you don't like it, go back and come up with a new idea and go from there.

One thing I do is, I tend to go out of order when drawing the panels. I could start at the last one, and work my way up to the first, or start in the middle or anywhere else between. I usually do this when I've got the perfect visual in mind for a specific panel. It just makes it easier to draw that one then, and go back to the others that way you don't forget it.

Step 4. Adding the Color
This process can take just as long as the drawing, and that's because you don't want to rush it or you may have a lot in a single panel to color. Such as background detail, or if there is more than one character that can also add to the lengthy process. I normally don't color them in the same order, just like I do with the drawing, and depending on the size and amount of detail, some panels can take up to three hours to do.
Also depending on the setting, sometimes adjustments need to made, such as hues. For example, it's always night time in Atlantis city, therefore any scenes that take place outside I use the color adjuster filter and change it to a blueish hue. I normally, add quick color to the layer underneath the lineart, and then when all the color is added, I make the color change. I do it this way so I can color everything in those tones without having it look like I used a filter.

Step 5. Arranging the Panels
I have a template I use for the comic, one I made from scratch that I've become very attached to. So when it comes time to add the panels to that template, I open another file I made using my comic life software. It's a comic sheet with different sizes of panels. I saved it in the format of a BMP file that way I can use the background eraser tool and get rid of the white surrounding the panels. After doing that, I select the size I need and copy it, then go back to the comic template, and paste it. Some size adjustments are needed in order to make sure everything will fit, so I mess with that until I get the right size. Then I select whichever colored panel I need and paste it into the blank panel. I also have to adjust the size of the image in order to make it a perfect fit, and this also requires cutting out some of the background scenery, but that's not a problem for me. Some would think it's a waste to draw all that detail and have some of it cut out when making the final paste, but to me it doesnt matter. Though, I do try to keep a lot of it in there, I just do it so that it's a perfect fit.

Also, each panel is set to its own individual layer, that way I can re-arrange them and resize if needed. For the most part I'm able to make everything fit, and I even take the time to arrange them in an orderly fashion. After I finish with that, I go ahead and merge down all the panel layers until they're all grouped together in one single layer. I don't merge it down to the final background because I'm going to be working with it on my laptop, so I leave it as is and just save it as a PSD file type on my flash drive.

Step 6. The Editing
After plugging my flashdrive into my laptop I open up photoshop and then the PSD file and then from there I make adjustments, such as brightness and contrast. These adjustments are necessarry since I had been working on a LCD monitor (my desktop) and anything viewed on my laptop comes out ten times brighter.
So after the adjustment I quickly save it and give it one last over view before starting the final step.

Step 7. Making the comic.
I use a program called Comic life, and let me tell you it's a very neat program with a lot of cool features, but the only downside is, when using that program it tends to mess with the quality, thus making it blurry so I came up with a solution of copy and paste from comic life to photoshop.
First I look at my word pad document with the dialogue and then begin setting up the speech bubbles in the correct form that I need them. After that, I type in the dialogue, copy it then paste it on photoshop where it needs to go. The only downside is whenever you paste your speech bubble from comic life it always comes with a small white background and so it's important to use the background eraser tool for this, to clean up that unwanted white area so it looks more professional.
It does this with everything you paste from comic life, so the same steps are required.

Adding the speech bubbles and action text is probably the shortest process, but it's important to make sure there aren't any spelling errors. I should copy and paste from word pad to comic life, but I don't.
Instead I just have it open right beside the program and type what I see. Remember what I said about last minute changes? Well sometimes, this does happen especially when working with the speech bubbles. You'll be working and suddenly, you're hit with an idea and you find yourself changing it completely.
I've had this happen quite a few times actually, like I said it's not bad at all, just means you're coming up with better ideas.

Anyways, after finishing that, I double check everything and if all looks good, I save it on my laptop as a PNG file type. Now the reason for choosing PNG over JPEG is due to the fact that PNG is better quality, where JPEG tends to pixelate your work, which is a big pet peeve of mine. PNG also looks cleaner and neater, but you can save it as any file type you want. I also make another size, one for the preview since I post it on the Robotech X website. I like the people to actually see a preview before they have a look at the actual page. I'm just odd that way I guess :D
Well that pretty much covers the whole process.. anythingI left out, I did for good reason ;]
mainly because an artist should never give out all their secrets, takes away from their originality, even their mysteriousness haha, I'm kidding...
but I do have secrets and I'll never tell!

anyways, I hope this guide is usefull, other than just showing how I spend my life =p

updates

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:14:45 GMT

I finished the two page update for the comic, and here it is

Shenanigans parts 1 & 2

finishing up the rest of the character introductions.. well the main ones anyways

characters: Admiral Grant, & Lynne

female officers: Grace Hanes, Lucy Ann, Alley Sterling & Mipsy Taylor (they're oh so dedicated)

also a remake of an older poster I did a year ago

The original was lacking in detail and composition so I decided to paint the crap out of it =D I also got a bit carried away with the details... blame my music for that. Anyways this is going into the robotech anthology book along with a few other pictures. I'm just so thrilled that Atlantech gets to be a part of an official project.. it's like a dream come true ^___^

I really aim to be a professional artist one day... till then I'll just keep working until I can get there.

most of all I really appreciate all the wonderful feedback and support I've been getting, without that I wouldn't have gotten this far.

New painting

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:45:36 GMT

I got bit by the digital painting bug tonight and decided to do a character portrait :D

I chose miss Thompson because I felt bad for not including her in the flyer art so here it is

Only took about four hours total, kind of a speed painting for me haha. I decided to do it in a different style this time. I used a vintage movie poster and made a palette out of the colors for this one

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, I even used a tutorial on DA for the soft look, which is odd for me since I really don't use those, just references if I need them bad enough.

Hopefully it doesnt look too saturated.. I always worry about that when I transfer my art to this laptop, and find out that its might lighter, then I end up tweaking the hell out of the contrast to get the same appearance as on my desktop monitor heh

well now that I've gotten this done, back to work on the comic... so close to finishing my two page update

Flyer artwork

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:30:15 GMT

My good friend David from robotech X, and being that he is my biggest fan came up with the idea of Atlantech flyers for San Diego Comc Con 09. Of course I liked the idea and had to come up with something, even though it took longer than I wanted, but patience does pay off especially when you're waiting for the right concept.

And as soon as I had the concept within my grasp, I decided to whip it up before all was lost.

Nothing too fancy or over saturating *glares at LCD monitor* just something clean and simple, featuring a select few of the characters, ones I personally chose.

(from left to right) Brian, Zoal, Justin, Arzel, Stan & Bhor. I wanted to include the main characters along with the Zyrian trio and because of that choice, some were unfortunate and weren't included this time.

I personally like the design, and I used a few special techniques of mine for the character images, especially the size.

I won't personally be there at comic con, but some of my art will, and anyone who visits the Robotech X booth can pick one of these up.

I hope they turn out alright, quality wise anyways

Well I've done it now

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:48:08 GMT

I took a friends advice on my comic project and it has taken off! :D three pages done, many more to come ^__^

I owe it all to my good friend gppr

Here's the pages I have so far

click the thumbs to see full view

feedback is most welcome :D

where do I start?

Thu, 21 May 2009 08:58:23 GMT

Ack, ideas they are attacking me! .....in other words I've got so many things on my mind, I just can't seem to focus on one thing right now. I'm still working on the web comic adaption, but had to go through several ideas and trash them one by one just until I had the right idea and where I was going to take it. And now? I think I've got it, its more of a let's dive in and see where it goes kind of approach now. *sigh* It's different when it comes down to it, different than writing anyway.. because with writing you just flesh out everything in text as you see it in your mind, but with art you transfer those images to the drawing board and try to get the same feel, which is also lengthy. I just don't have the ambition right now, and I wish I knew why....

perhaps someone needs to give a me a kick or something... I really do want to accomplish this, but i just want to do it right, am I making sense?

Aye yie yie

Mon, 11 May 2009 14:41:23 GMT

Well spring is here and that means so are my allergies, and they've been pretty bad so far. I feel out of it and worn down, can't say my psorasis makes it any better ugh.

Well anyways, I finished chapter 13 a few days ago, and I'm actually happy because for the longest time I wasn't sure which direction to take it in, but a little time spent thinking it over did a lot of good. My initial idea was to focus on something different and I thought the blooming romance between William and Victoria would be a good idea, because I had planned back then, but wasn't sure which chapter it would end up in..... with me you never know. I got all these ideas and I'm trying to fit every single one into a chapter as it progresses. So far it's working and along the way I'm getting new ideas to help me out. Anyways I've recently decided to start doing pictures for each chapter and so this is the illustration for chapter 13. I had actually had the idea in mind before I wrote it, so I did the drawing before I did any writing heh. kind of backwards is it not?

I just love this image, you can tell just by looking at it, that he's told her about his feelings, and she's looking caring and loving rather than her usual sassy-ness I like that dress too, perhaps for my next book project I'll do a full body version of it.

New Stuff

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 05:27:53 GMT

I've been kinda slacking lately but I've been slowly getting back to normal, and here's what I've gotten done so far. I've been getting some neat ideas for images so I've been trying to create them exactly as I see them in my head.

This first one is actually a design I had in mind for a while, but wasn't sure how to make it work till one night it hit me. I had this vision in mind of Stan Winston looking very scary and intimidating looking, as Brian sees in nightmare later on in my story. I myself had to picture this exact image and draw it the way I saw it, and this is how it came out. I'm pretty content with it because it looks exactly how I wanted it to. And it IS scary because I had chills as I was coloring it. Not often you're afraid of your own creation heh. But this one just kinda stares right through you, and hes got those soul-less eyes that give him even more of a menacing appearance. And that is exactly what I was aiming for! So this one is a keeper for sure ;]

Moving on......... Right now I'm living in a pretty small apartment, though some call it a "house" It's only got one bedroom, so I'm planning on saving up and finding a bigger place, preferably a nice two bedroom apartment, but the thing about one of the bedrooms is I plan on turning one into my own little studio. Yes, it's a silly dream of mine, just a room full of my art posted on the walls, a little sanctuary if you will. And you know what I want for that room? Life-size standees of my characters! Yes that's right, and I've been busy trying to make that happen. I've finished all of the characters and put them together in this image. It's pretty large which is why I just decided to link it instead of trying to post it here, killing the bandwidth heh.

But it's got the main cast all together with a nice height chart in the background, to show just how short or tall they really are. I'll be working on the individual images next, making posters out of them using single color gradient backgrounds. I guess I might post them when they're finished, it depends. I also had to color them a certain way so they don't lose their quality when enlarged. This is a must for the life-size concept. I had also planned on adding Maxwell to the list and I still may, it's just I left him out of this poster haha, I'm sure he doesn't mind, because if he were added, I'd most likely stick him next to his worst enemy, Stan.

Next work of art, or so called "older picture". This one I did a while back, but in color till I had the brilliant idea to use sepia tones instead. I just love the overall look of sepia toned images much like I love the look of old photos. Anyways, here it is

An art nouveau/deco influenced piece featuring William and Victoria. The original had a different frame, but I changed it to make it look more like an antique work of art. I do love how the tones look, gives it a more softer feel to it. The background for this poster was randomly selected as I wasn't sure what I wanted. Staying up late tends to mess with the brain lol.

And speaking of vintage, here's a photo of my fashion book collection, which by the way I am quite proud of

Some of these were kinda hard to track down but I owe it all to Amazon. there's still more I would like to get someday, particulary fashion from the later 30s and early 40s, but till then this is what I'll be working with. But I just adore flapper fashion, the dresses were just so gorgeous! Heck if I ever get the chance, I'll start collecting actual vintage dresses ^__^

Now onto the website related hoopla! Well the site has gone through a lot of different updates, new template and background but I've also been updating other sections and adding new stuff as I go. I've also got new banners finally! the ones on the site are large but this smaller rendition works too. This is the first banner I did, but then I realized I left some others out so I made another....................... see? Now no one is left out.... well except for Zyrians but they'd need a cooler looking banner not something flashy like this.

I'll probably end up submitting these smaller sizes to the site just in case someone would rather use this size instead of the large hmmm.

Case of the Tuesdays

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:43:58 GMT

Well I've still been busy somewhat, although my laptop still makes annoying sounds, it doesnt do it all the time. which is a relief but I still think it needs to be fixed.

I've been going through my old fanart from two years ago, and kinda touching up some of it because I realize I never submitted them to DA. I still wonder why I don't sometimes, I guess I'm just too picky when it comes to art, and if something doesnt look right, then I don't want others to see it till its fixed. Ah yes, I am strange like that! well anyway here's a little change of pace. I've drawn miss Betty Boop in a I guess "Atlantech" fashion heh. As if she were a character in Atlantis City, this is what she would look like.

uh oh! vicky would definitely have competition lol her and Natoya both ^__^

New Preview Art

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:25:33 GMT

Brand new image dump of character art tee-hee I have to admit I do get a tad carried away when working on anything Atlantech related, it's like being sucked into another dimension o_O but it's all good, I have no complaints :]

anywho heres the preview art, some are for the updated character profiles and others are for the upcoming comic/artbook I'm working on. I know I told myself I wouldnt get involved in another book project till later, but with as smoothly as everything is coming along, I figure why not? Besides, there's nothing quite like seeing your own creations published in some form. It's a very rewarding experience.

Anyways, I've finally gotten into the writing phase (been waiting for that to kick in) finally it has yay, and so much of chapter 12 is written and three pages so far.....So if this keeps up I can predict that it will be done in the next few days or less, and then I'll begin on 13. Ghaaaa, so many ideas, it's crazy but in a good way. On the side I am still working on the webcomic version, which I've been slacking lately because I had to deal with other things and work on a birthday gift for a friend of mine. for him I did a short comic of his favorite duo, Vicky and Maxwell haha, and the ever lasting Atlantis Rat jokes of course.

here's the comic I did, click on the preview to view full size

it was done in black and white of course, because it was just a faster process, needless to say he loved it ^__^ so I did good haha

New stuff

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:08:13 GMT

I've been busy with the webcomic intro , but I've also made time for other things, such as poster images of course. I've also done wallpaper versions as well, just because the site needed it, speaking of which I need to add those next.

well here's the first poster image which is also the newest one.

It features the Zyrian trio, Bhor, Zoal and Arzel. The development behind it is kind of interesting because the picture of Zoal started out as part of a character sketch for my next image dump installment. But after I finished it, I got to thinking "I bet this would look good as a stand alone poster, and so I ended up added the other two and it just took form. Overall I'm happy with it, I think it looks cool and really brings out their characters.

Here's the wallpaper version, the actual size will be posted on the site, photobucket just has a habit of shrinking things.

looks nifty I think :D

Now this next wallpaper image is a little older but probably my most recent full digital painting titled "Fate" It features Maxwell Graham as the card dealer, which he is, and the other characters are all in card form. The symbolism here is that he thinks of the others as pawns, and believes himself to be better and worth more.

you can see for yourself here

The cards themselves are indivdual images done for this poster. I like working on bits and pieces and then piecing them together, it's just so much more easier than drawing everything out, which would be kinda hard to do and you wouldnt get the same results.

Well that takes care of the updates for now, hopefully next time I'll have a new image dump to post, cause I love those, and hope to have them published in an artbook someday.

Now back to working on chapter 12!

Pin-ups galore!

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:48:17 GMT

Yes, I started three sketches last night and finished them all by dawn. *yawn*

one of which was requested heh

I finished the Valentines day pin-up of Vicky!

I'll admit, it was kind of rushed because I wanted to finish it before the energy drink

started to wear off. I also took my precious time, coming up with a decent background

but I think the purple gradient works.

so here it is! That gold dress is pretty much what she wears a good part of the time, and it was designed by me =D

oh yes and that is a Thompson M1 tommy gun haha, the very one she was named after.

I have a peculiar sense of humor in which I sometimes I base last names of characters off such things as weaponry, historical figures, & other crazy ideas that come to mind. Did I mention Stan was named after a brand of cigarettes?

Next pin-up is actually for another project I've got cooking, (not literally haha) But I like how it came out, the pose was based off looking at an old photo. Miss Grace Hanes of the AMF, only without the uniform.

I figured that any pin-up based on the four officers, should be without the uniforms, because they aren't all that great to look at. So any more I plan on doing will be wearing something more formal.

In this case, Grace is dolled up, looking cheery as always, except for when young Justin is on the flirtatious move and bugs the hell out of her. The poor redhead! Anyways it's not simple to tell in this particular pic, but she has a more stout figure than the other women. Meaning more meat on them bones! And why? Well because in my universe, there are different body types, not everyone looks like a super model like in Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles! But who cares if she's a tad chubby, she's still pretty and good natured.

This next one, I was not planning on doing, why? well because Anthro art just really isnt my thing...... But a good friend of mine and (fan) requested that I draw Victoria as an anthromorphic cat, and I said okay! So I did it, and was surprised to find that i like how it came out. He does too *cough* pervert *cough* anyways here it is.....

Interesting isn't it? Wearing that same gold dress because I was too lazy to be more creative. I also noticed she turned out to be a little more "curvacious" than her human body, ah well, it still looks good. Not to mention it's got a similar purple background to the "Thompson" pin-up. I guess I was just in a purple mood I don't know haha, good thing grace's image is sepia toned or else I probably would of done a purple background for her too.