Nightmares

I had a nightmare last night, about a crone troll with a ladies' wig and gown, whose hands caused rot in everything they touched.

Why the Mango is Heart-Shaped

Watercolor on some very bad paper. I'm not sure if I like the looseness or if I think it looks a hot mess. It's based on a Filipino folktale about a girl who commits suicide and the mango tree grows from her grave.

Revenge of the Skatepunk

She's baaaack.

I come bearing the gift of steampunk!

Does anyone remember my little blurb when I was talking about going to Another Anime Convention a few months ago, up in Nashua, NH? Like I briefly mentioned, I ended up going to a lot of really amazing steampunk panels. Ones discussing Steampunks, Victorian ethics, and our own ethics; and ones of Steampunk around the world, because seriously, why do so many Steampunks cling to Victorian England when there was a whole amazing world to steam up. I learned about, for instance, the art of James Ng, who is a really brilliant example of non-Western-centric Steampunk, and just a beautifully skilled drafstman.

All the Steam panels I went to were run by members of The Wandering Legion or by Ay-Leen the Peacemaker, writer for the blog Beyond Victoriana. If they're ever at a convention you're attending, check them out. it is well worth your while.

As it was, this con coincided with a project for my Fashion and Body Adornment Class. It was my self-directed final and my teacher, curious about this Steampunk stuff I'd been drawing, steered me in the direction for more of it. I was kind of "meh" at first, because I felt like I'd exhausted my interesting in drawing steampunk, but then I decided to roll with it, working specifically non-British Steampunk, deciding to create outfits for people in different countries. So in the end, things work out.

In making these paintings, I gave myself a few rules:

1) The countries I chose would be associated with Great Britain in some way, largely through the Commonwealth.
2) I would preserve the corseted silhouette in my figures' outfits, but find new ways to use it.
3) NO GOGGLES OR GEARS. Though two of my characters were in situations where goggles would have been inappropriate, I didn't want to default to one of the traditional default icons of Steampunks. Of course that's kind of bullshit, given rule 2 but....

Here they are.

1) Arctic Canada. Her outfit was inspired by Inuit gear when going up into the Arctic Circle to hunt seals. Her corset is worn for extra core warmth and the metal trappings on her boots have spikes to crunch through ice. There are sun marks under her eyes.


2) Egypt. This one is where I started dressing characters, rather than trying to costume a culture. This character walked into my head, someone who offers to guide foreign tourists and archaeologists through tomb sites, but takes them to tombs that are open or trapped, while steering them away from ones that are still safe and unseen.


3) Singapore. I know, I know. It's a bit of an anachronism to have a food hawker for a genre that branches into the early 20th century at best when Hawker Centres are more a mid-20th century/contemporary thing but...sh. Just...shhh. So here is my food hawker. The corset she's wearing is back support for the steam-heater backpack that carries all her food in different canisters. Steam power keeps the food delicious and hot, with an exhaust pipe directed away from her body to prevent burns. This way, she can set up at any old road side and sell her food.

And there you have it!

Oh and since, an hour and 27 minutes ago, it was Christmas, I had an excellent time with my mother and two of my aunts who are visiting from the Philippines. Gifts were given. Too much food was eaten. Doctor Who was watched. Good times. Good times.

Watch Me Burn

Uh...weird set of inspirations for this one.

I was thinking about Weimar Berlin, like I do, and had "Love the Way You Lie" stuck in my head.

It really doesn't go deeper than that.

In other news, I have only one week of school left before the semester ends and I have less to do than I originally anticipated but still more to do than I am necessarily comfortable with having in front of me. I'll manage, since I have to, but I'm tired.

I am also on the verge of delivering some Very Exciting News but I'm still afraid of counting chickens before they hatch and I'm holding back on it until I know that it is for sure and certain.

Baba Yaga's House

I don't know what happened when I scanned this, but immediately some of the brightness I'd lost just came right back.

Bad Days mean cool art?

I tend to make strange/creepy art when I'm frustrated. Doesn't it feel like, sometimes, there's just a big well of frustration going through you?

The Deer Hunter

An illustration for class.

I'll Be Your Server Tonight

So I said last night that I would post more art. Then I did a six hour shift, where I did nothing but talk on the phone. Then I came home and had frozen yogurt and talked with my roommate. Who is excellent.

Anyway, here's a piece I actually finished last week but I wanted some input from my classmates before posting.

Brandy and Sam

More pet portraits.

Wow I'm late

So I put off posting this because I wanted the brides to see it first and then I...completely forgot to post it. My friends Amy and Mandi got married at the beginning of July and I did a painting of their cat, Chivas, as a wedding present.

And now I just remembered that I've completely forgotten to get something else off their wedding registry. I suck.

Matt Smith

I actually did this a while ago, just thought I'd add it.

The ID Conundrum Solved

...for now anyway. I made it my ID but never actually posted it.

Durrrrrrrrr.

Doodles

Got some new brushes today and did some doodles. The second one was to see if I could do a painting without doing a sketch first. No pencil. Just watercolor.

Anita Revisted

So remember that digital painting of Anita Berber about three entries down? This is the second version I did. For my Drawing for Illustration class, I tossed this sketch up on the wall with the ones I'd actually done with the assignment in mind. To my surprise, it was the one my teacher liked best. So I shaded it more thoroughly and put it into photoshop to resize it and clear out the blue pencil I'd used for the original sketch. After that, I printed it on a kind of paper called photo rag, which is almost like a thin hot press. I did the color with watercolors. And yes, I resized her bust. I forgot, in the original, that Anita Berber was supposed to be on the more androgynous side.

I want to do some more early 20th century stars at some point, like Marlene Dietrich and Hedy Lamarr. And Anita's sometime lover, Sebastian Droste.

On the job front update, I didn't get the job at the zoo. HOWEVER, I've found an internship! It's extremely exciting and I had my first day today. I'm on a team with other interns, helping create a public sculpture.

A Fine Vintage Yes Yes Cheerio

There is roughly as much explanation behind this one as the last one.

Pip Pip What What

I bet you're hoping for some kind of explanation or rationale for this.

I really don't have one. It's a capybara with a monocle and top hat.

In other news, I may have a job doing caricatures at the zoo. What? Why are you looking at me like that? It's a job. And it's art based. And I can go feed the seals afterward.

There's an evaluation I have to turn in first. They've sent me nine photos and I have to caricature four of them with black pen and in roughly ten minutes a picture. Not hard, but quite different from how I work, so the learning curve is largely in that. After that, hopefully, comes...well...being hired.

Mister Top Hat Jolly Good up there is the result of too much caricature practice.