The Continuing Adventures of the Boogervampire

Journal Post

2012-01-29T22:31:00.000-08:00

So, for the last seven years I've been surrounded by a small Ghostbusters memorabilia collection. Not my collection, but Carlos'. I didn't mind it, in fact, I LOVE it! Those movies were a huge part of my childhood (along with the other 80's staples of Back to the Future, Star Wars and the Goonies) and this weekend I discovered that CARLOS HAS NEVER ACTUALLY SEEN THEM!!

So of course I subjected him to them this weekend. . . Hadn't actually seen the Ghostbusters. . . *shakes head*.

Random Toon Boom Doodle

2012-01-18T19:31:00.000-08:00

A friend accidentally sent me a doodle of her 9th grade school photo today. I did a quick doodle of mine to "repay the favor".

Enjoy.

Oh, and in the 9th grade I was insanely obsessed with Disney. So I was actually wearing an embroidered, button up 101 dalmatians shirt, with matching dalmatian puppy earrings. The sketch was super quick, or there would have been more detail. :P

Frankenbread Men are FINALLY DONE!

2011-12-04T21:12:00.001-08:00

Click Image to see all Frankenbread at a larger size.

Ahhh, FINALLY. As some of my followers may have noticed, I started the Frankenbread Men series back last Christmas. I was hoping to crank out 7 little gingerbread men and make a charm bracelet. . . then it didn't happen. But what's amazing, this year went by so fast that it feels like just a month or two ago that I stopped working on them. Because of that, the idea of making the charm bracelet was still relatively fresh in my head and I started making the last 4 just before Thanksgiving. Then, buy the end of it, after all 7 were complete, I had to throw in a little Frankenbread House for good measure. You can see the finished one in more detail over in the Crypt of DOOM!

The finished Bracelet over in the Crypt of DOOM!

Next on the list is the annual Christmas Card. In all honesty, I've got a bad feeling it won't get done in time, as I've only gotten the sketches above done for it.

In other news, I've finished my last episode of Season 7. Well, my last full episode. I've got only a month and a half before I go on hiatus (I'm thinking positive that it's hiatus and the show won't be cancelled). I'll now be spending the holidays doing revisions and helping out on other episodes. It's been a crazy year so far, but a lot of fun. Got to board a lot of stuff that I never thought I'd have been able to and learned a lot. Keeping my fingers crossed that 2012 will have another season of American Dad in the stars.

They're Coming . . .

2011-11-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

The Second Batch.

Last year I got three out of the 7 intended Franken-Bread Men created in time for the Holiday Rush, and this weekend, I took the time to create #4. I've already printed him out and shrunk him down into the beginnings of ADORABLE earrings. They will be posted in the shop before the end of the week. Seriously TINY and cute.

With any luck the next three Franken-Bread Men will be done in the next couple of weeks and (as was my intention last year) will be turned into a charm bracelet. :)

**UPDATE**

Earrings are in the shop now!

The Pumpkin Party

2011-10-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

"Pumpkin Party" 9"x11" Gouache; 2011

Ahhh! Finally finished.

It turned out pretty decent. Spent a lot of time on this one trying to figure out how the light from the fire place and light from the TV, along with light from the pumpkins might work. Pretty happy with it. Wolfboy, the Boogervampire, and the Mummy are getting in the Halloween mood by carving their pumpkins as they watch a "Munsters" marathon. :)

Speaking of marathons, I get to happily report I enjoyed a lovely Vincent Price marathon while working on this little gem. Enjoyed The Raven, Comedy of Terrors, and Twice Told Tales. Then for good measure I threw in the original Boris Karloff Universal monster classic, the Mummy.

If you're in the Silverlake, CA area, you can see it in person, along with a whole bunch of other "Spooky" paintings, plushies and toys over at Monkeyhouse Toys. The show is up until November 9th!

Progress Report: Halloween Show Painting

2011-10-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

The painting is, as of now, still untitled. In all honesty, I'm sweating it a bit. I'm supposed to have it turned in by Wednesday, and as you can see it's still far from finished. But it will be done this weekend, wether or not it's part of the art show.

I had been waiting to post the details of the Show itself until I'd received a flyer advertising it. But alas, no flyer yet. So here's the info I know so far. I'll update this post with a flyer and more details as I find them out.

If you're in the area, the show is happening this Saturday, October 15th (2011) at Monkeyhouse Toys in Silverlake, CA. I'm assuming the opening will start around 6pm, as that is when shows there have started in the past. It is a group show, and I'm sure there will be at least 50 artists.

Tiny Purple Bat

2011-10-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I've had a crazy couple of weeks, but thankfully I'm back to being able to work on my own projects again. No updates this week on the Halloween Show painting, as it's really not much further than it was two weeks ago. It's just been transferred to the water color paper. I hope to start blocking in the background base color tomorrow after work. We'll see. There'll be an update next Sunday on it's progress.

This weekend I did do a couple of color tests for the painting though. I usually mix my own colors, but in an attempt to expedite the process, I finally broke down and bought some purple gouache. I wanted to test the purple and some lime green I bought a while back and see how they look and flow. I'm really glad that I did, because had I not done this test, the final pumpkin carving piece would have suffered a horrible fate.

So yeah. . . little purple bat painting. Decided to throw it in the Crypt of DOOM! This one is 1.5" wide and 3" tall.

Also, I enjoy having a textured ceiling in our apartment. Earlier today I was laying in the bed staring up and spacing out (because I could), when I saw this little guy. It was basically just his head and shoulders on the ceiling, so I quickly filled in the rest. :) I may have to paint this guy later.

New Art Show Coming Soon

2011-09-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

Well, as some of my Facebook Followers have seen, I'm working on a new painting.

I was invited into a Halloween Themed show at Monkeyhouse Toys in Silverlake, CA for the month of October. Don't have all the details yet, but the opening is slated for October 15th.

As with most of the theme shows out there, the subject matter is pretty broad, so as long as it has something to do with Halloween it's good to go. I've been looking for an outlet to paint the Mummy and Wolfboy for a while and thought how CUTE would that be if they were carving pumpkins. Since it looked like the boys were making a mess, I decided to invite the Boogervampire to the pumpkin carving party.

I'll be doing bi-weekly "Work in Progress" updates as the painting comes along.

Enjoy and thanks again for stopping by!

Purple Spider Mini Painting

2011-09-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

So, Carlos and I have a new "friend" living down stairs in one of the bushes. It has managed to weave one of the biggest webs I've ever seen. Everytime someone breaks the web, it's up and functional again by 10pm every night. The spider is seriously HUGE, I don't know that I've ever seen one as big as this guy, aside from the wolf spiders we had in Seattle (and the one I did an Irish jig on in Canyon Country my senior year in college). It's freakin' HUGE.

So, I tried to paint it from memory tonight. The painting is almost 2 inches square, and of course, is in gouache. Top one is obviously a mess up. Was smart enough to prep two little squares just in case. ;)

Deep Sea Diving

2011-09-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

As I previously mentioned, the last couple of weeks I've been working on mermaids, one of my least favorite mythical creatures. The tiny mermaids were for a synchronized swimming team. One of the team members contacted me saying that they'd like to have necklaces made of their mascot, a mermaid, and that their team colors were red, white and blue.

The client chose the tiny mermaid with her hair in a bun, and with the starfish decorations, because in synchronized swimming, when you swim your routine you put your hair up in a bun with Knox Gelatin and usually bobby pin in some sort of sequined hat.

After the client made her decision I decided to do a recolor of the girl with the octopus on her head in a color pallet that I find more appealing. It's the little synchro mermaid's cousin, the deep sea zombie mermaid.

Finally, I couldn't let my three day weekend pass with out doing some painting. Got out the blue paint and another Angler Fish appeared. This one is just another Mini Painting, and measures 1.5" x 1.75", and is in gouache (of course).

Above from "Zombies in Love" by Scott C.

And in closing, I had the opportunity to go check out a pretty awesome gallery show/book signing/drawing demo over at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA with my friend Brianne. They were releasing "Zombies In Love" by Scott C. and it was a ton of fun. They encouraged people to dress up in prom clothes or as zombies, so as I was walking around looking at the beautiful original paintings from the book, I was surrounded by zombie prom attendees. If you live in the Los Angeles area I totally recommend checking it out before the show comes down on the 26th of September (2011). If you don't live in L.A. you can pick up a copy of the book over at Amazon.

Mermaids

2011-08-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

BLECK!!

I'm not a huge fan of mermaids. I used to be, once upon a time, but I won't get into that. What I will get into is this:

My mom asked me a few months back for some mermaid drawings. She's aware of how I feel, but since it's family and they do so much for you. . . you're kinda obligated to do things you don't like every now and then. I've filled about 6 pages in my sketch book trying to figure out how I want these little buggers to look. I've tried adult, sexy mermaids, a few really stylized, teenage type mermaids and even a skeletal mermaid (my personal fave thus far), but the need to draw more creepy bug eyed children prevailed.

With any luck I'll have one I'm happy with, put it in the computer, clean it up and color it in flash and be able to scratch this little bugger off my list next weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Clue

2011-08-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

Growing up my brother and I played a few board games. We didn't have a ton of them, just the basics. Candyland, Battleship, Othello, a cheesey New Kids on the Block board game, and my all time fave, Clue.

I seriously loved that game. I don't know if it's because it was honestly fun, or if it was because I'd watch a lot of Quincey, Perry Mason and Streets of San Francisco with my dad. Detective TV shows with dad were the best, and a detective board game was seriously the most awesome thing on the planet when I was about 8. If I could have figured out how to play it by myself, I would have.

Another awesome thing around that time was the Clue MOVIE. Man, mom got stuck watching that movie with me about as many times as I had to watch the Lion King with her about 5 years later. Chris had Top Gun and I had Clue. Madeline Khan. . . man, I wish she was still around. Today's funny ladies just aren't the same as her.

Anyway, enough rambling. I decided while spacing out in the shower that I wanted to do fan art of my most fave game ever, and while I was thinking about it, I realized that the movie versions costumes and colors would be fun to paint (especially with flat color backgrounds that match the character's names). So here's the first of six. She has two names, the first rather obvious, "Ms. Scarlet". The second, or true name, of the piece is one of my fave lines that Lesley Ann Warren said in the movie: "True! Who are you? Perry Mason?!" It measures 5" x 7" and is gouache on watercolor paper. I'm hoping to eventually frame all 6 of them together in one frame. :)

I was also hoping to have Mr. Green done, which was why I waited so long to post, but he had a few technical difficulties and needs to be started over. The other 5 will be posted as they are finished.

Also, I occasionally curate treasuries on Etsy It's completely for fun, and here's the newest one, full of classic horror goodness. Check it out

Shrunken Heads

2011-07-17T23:18:00.000-07:00

Did a couple mini paintings today while I was waiting for my Fiance to wake up from his nap. (His mom is coming to visit in a few days and we needed to make another run to the storage unit but he'd asked for a nap first.)

Top one is a self portrait. Got my hair done last weekend by my good friend Carla over at the Double O Salon in Eaglerock, CA. I've been dying to have lime green hair for a couple years now and decided that it was the right time. Haven't really had the time to take a photo of my hair, so I decided to do a painting instead. You know, because it takes such a long time to take a photo with a digital camera and upload it to the web.

Since the portrait was so small and I was working on a sheet of 4"x 6" paper, I decided to use up the rest of my paper and paint by just doodling something. The shrunken head is what happened. Been thinking about those a lot lately, glad I finally got that idea out on paper.

Fantastic Frida

2011-07-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

Fantastic because she's FINALLY FINISHED!

Had some trouble with color on this one. Note to self, stick to three color schemes or do better planning earlier on. After many different tries this was the one I settled on.

Work, as usual has been interesting. A lot to get used to even when you have "down" time between boards. Revisions were nice to do though. Got to work with two new directors doing revisions for them and it's nice to work on both sides of the storyboarding process.

. . .and I ramble. Enjoy Frida and have a safe and happy Independence Day!

Angler Fish and Sugar Skulls

2011-06-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

Things I'm learning at the new job: When you storyboard at a "regular" studio sections take way longer than you anticipate they will to finish.

Finished up my first full episode on Thursday afternoon. Got 11 full pages of script. Had a lot of fun doing it and actually got to board a chase sequence with a gun in it. Still have a ton to learn, but I'm getting the hang of it.

Back a couple weeks ago, right when things were starting to pick up in intensity and pace, Carlos found an awesome Animal Planet toy of an Angler Fish. He knows how much I adore them so of course he had to get it for me. Above is what was going on in my head when I opened my eyes to see it.

Now that I've gotten a little bit of free time back, I'm starting my 4th vectorized sugar skull for the Crypt of DOOM!

In high school, my art teacher actually tried to teach us about artists as well as how to draw. Frida Kahlo was the first artist I actually could remember stuff about. Her work was really interesting and spoke to me at that age (not that it's not still captivating now that I'm older). In all honesty it was probably because she was the only female our teacher told us about as well as a lot of her work has graphic elements in it.

Any-who, the time has come to do a Frida inspired sugar skull and here she is, work in progress.

Til I post again, Boogervampire signing out!

Mommas and Bats, Oh my!

2011-05-09T00:37:00.000-07:00

Once a year, most recently the first Sunday of May, there is an unofficial event that takes place at Disneyland. And I must say it's my second year observing the event.

They call it Bat's Day, and once a year, a very large group of Goths decend upon Disneyland for a day of fun and frivolity. They spend the two day's prior having a little convention of sorts, with a market place, costume party and some concerts. Then they finish off their weekend of fun by spending Sunday in the park.

I went last year, and honestly I wasn't that impressed. I don't consider myself a goth. I appreciate their culture and I'm into a lot of the same things they are, but I'd be a total poser if I said I was goth.

That being said, I do enjoy seeing them all grouped together in the "Happiest Place on Earth" and watching the reactions people have to them in their full regalia. And I admit, the main reason I went back for a second year was because this year's goth day fell on Mother's Day. I had visions of thousand's of goths running around the park and thousands of mother's having to explain to their children that the goths dress they way they do because their mommies didn't love them enough when they were children (I did actually hear that said about me once in college when I had pink hair).

Any who. It was rather uneventful. There weren't as many goths as I was expecting and the mom's were all totally un-bothered by them. Sadness.

And on that note, I give you a new sugar skull.

More Journal Goodies

2011-04-18T00:10:00.000-07:00

Well, the last couple weeks have been a little dead here on the bloggy blog for a good reason. My first storyboard, at the new job, had it's deadline last week. Or so I thought. I found out it's actually not due til this week, but I'd rather it be early than late. As a result the only thing I've been drawing, aside from my evening journal entry, has been a buff guy dancing with some Mr. Pibb . . . and cars. :)

Speaking of cars. . . as you can see in one of the above sketches, when Carlos and I go visit family in San Diego and he drives home, he always seems to want to race people. Once I realize what's going on and call him on it, he totally denies it. Until he wins his imaginary race, that is. Enjoy more of my silly adventures and lets all hope that next week I post something that's NOT from my journal!

Sketch Journal Dumpage!!

2011-03-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a crazy couple of weeks. I started the new job and I wasn't even there three days before I got sick. I think that's a new personal record. This last cold was a doozie, in fact I still am not 100% and sound a little like Scarlet Johanssen or Kathleen Turner AND I completely lost hearing in both ears for three days due to boogers in my inner ear. Sexy huh? Guess I'm not the Boogervamprie for nothin'. Anyway, there is nothing more embarassing than being sent home from work on your 6th day because they fear you are going to bring the plague upon the office.

Enjoy the Doodle Dumpage. I went through and found all the suitable for the web drawings. . . although I didn't blur out the curse words, so sorry about that. I was raised by a sailor you know. My mom tried her hardest, but I guess I'm daddy's little potty mouth at heart.

Shave & a Haircut!

2011-03-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

Well, next Saturday evening (March 19th, 2011) is my first show at Monkeyhouse Toys in their new location. I seriously LOVE doing shows with Mayra from Monkeyhouse, if only for the reason she loves toys, art and trying to get her local community involved. (Currently on display, until they hang the new show, she is showcasing some of the artwork created by second graders at the local elementary school next to the shop. HOW CUTE!!)

Anyway, "Shave & a Haircut" is kind of a tie in with the small hair salon located above the toy store. Mayra had the idea to have a show devoted to crazy hairstyles and kookie facial hair, and asked me if I'd like to participate. How could is say no, honestly?

So I thought on it a couple of days, trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I thought about doing a detailed version of Marie Anotinette's severed head. . . but then realized there would probably be one or two of those. Then I thought of doing Medusa, but not normal Medusa. Which led me to what you see here. :P

For more info on the show, just click the flier. Oh and let me add, if you are going to try to make it out to the show there's a bunch of construction going on in the area. In fact there's a giant forklift directly in front of the shop, so if you DO come out and you pass a giant forklift, you just missed Monkeyhouse. :P

A little over a week ago I was honored to be asked to show some work for a few months at Altered States Tattoo Shop in Olympia, WA. For them, I printed some exclusive archival quality sugar skulls (the ones I offer as earrings and charms in the Crypt of Doom!) and framed a them. I'm beyond excited about sending them these primarily because they are the first place back home to ask to show some of my work. I already warned them that if a group of older people, with no tats or piercings, show up it's just my family coming in to show their support. :D

And finally, to everyone effected by the recent events in Japan, my heart and prayers are with you.

Ice-Scream Social

2011-03-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

Well now that the opening for the Women In Animation show has come and gone (to those of you who made it out to the opening I sincerely thank you) I can now post the finished painting!! To all my Facebook friends and followers, I apologize for showing you stuff you've seen a million and a half times already. :P

"Ice-Scream Social" is an 8"x10" gouache concoction featuring my little "Bride of Frankenstein" character who's named Frannie, and also introduces her little Frankenstein boyfriend Hugo. They're at the local Ice-Scream Parlor enjoying a deadly nightshade milk shake with ectoplasm and whipped cream topping and finished with an eyeball on top. I think they're quite enamored with each other, don't you?

Coming in two weeks will be my next art exhibition of 2011, this one taking place at Monkeyhouse Toys in Silverlake, CA. As I've said before, I'm very excited about that show. The piece has been done for over two weeks, but I'm trying to be good and not post it all over the web until closer to the show's date. BUT, if you are a follower of the Boogervampire over on Facebook, you have already seen it. ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

Things Going On!

2011-02-27T23:58:00.000-08:00

First an announcement. Even though I've known about this for a couple of weeks I totally forgot to start pimping it and realized that the opening for it is this FRIDAY (March 4th, 2011). I asked if I could participate in a Gallery Show being curated by the Women In Animation organization. As I said, the opening is being held this Friday evening, March 4th, 2011 from 6-9pm at the Animation Guild's fancy new building's gallery space. For more information visit the Women In Animation or the Animation Guild's sites.

As for the pieces, I'll post the finished one next week. Two of them will be old one's with the finished new one you can see above.

Next Crypt of DOOM!! stuff. I created this new little gem. I've made her into the regular DS Charm, Earrings, and a single Hair Clip. If I get enough custom requests/purchases I'll probably offer it as a pair of hair clips, but I'm testing the waters right now. So far the reaction has been pretty positive. Which mean's I'll probably make a couple more new skulls before the end of the year. (Wow, this blog entry is ramble-ier than usual.)

Finally, I actually will be participating in another art show over at the NEW Monkeyhouse Toys location, in Silverlake, on March 19th. The piece is actually done WAY ahead of time, but I'm holding off posting it here until closer to the date of the show. All I have to say is that it was a ton of fun to work on, but the custom matte I invested in has made the piece truly SING.

Well, that's it! Thanks for stopping by and checking in with me, I'm always grateful. :D

Tiger Girl vs. Batman

2011-02-20T23:58:00.000-08:00

Well this week's post isn't that original, BUT it's also the first commission I recieved through the Crypt of DOOM!

Back at the beginning of the month I was contacted by a woman who thought my painting "AH Ha-ha, I WIN!" was adorable and reminded her of her kids. She asked if I could change Cheetah to a little girl in a Tiger costume and if I could turn Wonder Woman into Batman. I told her it should be easy enough and accepted her challenge.

This time around I bust out my markers (which had been sitting out since I did the drawing of Natasha) and hoped that I was warmed up enough to tackle an 8x10 detailed drawing on good paper. I changed up the cats on this piece as well, omitting Loki and Nico and replacing them with a gray kitty and a siamese kitty.

All in all it turned out okay. In some ways I like it better than the original. Of course there are things I would change, but there always are. :D

Another Sketch Dump

2011-02-14T16:34:00.000-08:00

Man, my Journal I recieved for Christmas from Brianne is really starting to help in multiple areas of my life!

Here's a few more days worth. One thing I notice is that the more I do it the better they get. Granted I can't post all of them because I've started trying to document things that happen each day and some of them can be a bit embarrassing to the subjects I document (namely the Carlos Super Bowl Experience). But yeah, here's a couple more.

As I said last week, I'm working on some projects I can't post right now. But I am going to say that I'll be participating in three Gallery/Art Show's next month and I'm trying to get three pieces all done before next Friday, on top of finishing a Commissioned piece for a customer through the Crypt of DOOM! And all this just two weeks before I start on American Dad! It's gonna be a crazy time!

Oh, and as a good friend of mine said earlier today. . . Happy Day before Half-Off Chocolate's Eve!!

What a Randomly Productive Week!

2011-02-06T23:59:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess I made up for not having anything last week!

This last week was blissfully productive.

Up at the top is a more detailed, colored version of a doodle you may have seen last week. My friend, and former coworker, Natasha has one of the more unique personal style's I've seen in a while. I think it's a strange concoction of retro chic, latin flair, and a side of the 80's just to confuse you. Either way, she's got some RAD outfits. Black and white sketches just don't do them any justice. Someday I may have to make a paper doll out of her just so I can document all her cool clothes.

Then the day after I finished the giant Natasha drawing (It's 22" long!), I sat down and finally finished a second mini-painting I started around the same time as the Skull-tart one. Like I said before, I got these awesome neon watercolors when I went the Mother-land last summer. I have no idea what I'll use them for in the future, but Rosie the Sugar Skull turned out pretty decent!

As usual, if you're interested in taking her home, you can purchase her in the Crypt of DOOM!!!

And finally, half of my Valentine's are complete!!

I've been working on these little punks for over a month. I hit a snag when I accidentally mixed an RGB color pallet with a CMYK one, but after getting it all sorted out I was able to finish these three! Sadly I didn't meet my personal cut off date for posting them in the Crypt of DOOM, but there is always next year!

Hopefully next week I'll post a "work in progress" of two big projects I will be starting this week if I'm going to stay on schedule, til then, have a good week!

Nothing to Report

2011-01-30T23:24:00.000-08:00

Nothing new this week.

I'm working on 3 little projects at the same time and all are equally unfinished. So until they are all finished, hopefully NEXT weekend, here are doodles. A friend got me a sketch journal. One that you do one drawing a day in for a whole year. It's been fun. Some days I just draw nonsense (because I do all my doodles right before bed) and other days I try to recount something that happened during the day. Sometimes it's as simple as what someone wore, other times I try to recapture something I found entertaining, and almost every one has the cats in it. :P

So, until next week. . .have fun, be safe and all that jazz.

Skullhead Sweet-Tart Mini Painting

2011-01-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

Finally had an opportunity to do some painting this week. After a small set back earlier in the week, I finally remembered how to use my gouache and did this little skullhead. She measures approximately 1.5"x 1.75" (yes, those are inches, not feet).

The scan of the image doesn't really do the color's any justice though. I purchased some neon watercolors and gouache over the summer at the Daniel Smith art MECCA back home and neon and scanners just don't mix.

Small story about her. Just when I finished her and got her placed in her tiny little frame, I decided to clean off a water stain from the glass. I sprayed a shot of Windex on it, and before I could even get back to the frame with a paper towel, it had almost completely obliterated her left (my right) eye. Fortunately I got the painting out of the frame fast enough to let it dry and fix the eye, but I nearly had a heart attack! Thank God it wasn't a gallery show piece or I would have really had one.

I'd like to do a couple more of these. This one will be posted for sale in the Crypt of DOOM, in case you wanted to check out more photos of it.

Angler Fish Rock!

2011-01-10T00:03:00.000-08:00

Well, a couple years ago I did a painting of an angler fish for a Power In Numbers show at Gallery Nucleus, and I thought it might be fun to do another as a bookmark or something for my shop.

Angler fish are awesome because the male fish is tiny and small and burrows it's way up into the female fish just above her ovary/uterus area. His body then becomes part of her's and functions as a permanent sperm bank. That and they're just creepy as hell and have a glowing orb on their head. (Seriously, I learned the reproductive part in college. Pretty rad.)

Also in shop news, I'm trying to gear up for Valentine's Day. Made this little cutie into a pair of hair clips. If spiders actually looked the way I drew them, I know I wouldn't be scared of them.

Greetings 2011, Nice to Meet You

2011-01-03T22:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm not sad to see 2010 over. It had it's shares of ups and downs just like any other year, but I must say I won't be missing it much.

Cheers to a New Year!

Happy Holidays to One and ALL!

2010-12-20T00:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my friends, family, and people nice enough to stop by and check out my bloggy blog.

As you can probably guess, this was this years Christmas Card. I actually started it last November, but due to time and prioritization it got left by the sidelines until just recently. Honestly it was a good thing, the original sketch needed work and last year I couldn't see what needed to be fixed on it. So stepping away from it, I was able to return with a fresh eye and made a boat load of revisions.

For the record, it's not Christmas in our household until we take our annual "Loki in a Stupid Holiday Hat" photo. Enjoy the holiday festivities and be safe and healthy!

Sketch Dump - Fall 2010

2010-12-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

Well, I was hoping to post the finished Christmas Card this week, but it's taking a tad longer than I thought, so this week is just a sketch book dump. Sketches from the the last 4 months, taken from three sketch books.

The Crypt of Doom has a couple new items, like the Monster Girls Necklace and the Bookworm Bookmark below.

A Little Holiday Cheer

2010-12-06T03:16:00.000-08:00

I spent a couple days racking my brain trying to think of something fun to make for the holidays. . . The fruitcake was fun last year, so I wanted to keep the holiday food trend going. So, enter the "Frankenbread" Men. Fun, freakish and fabulous, these guys have been so much fun to doodle I'll probably make 4 more and throw them all on a charm bracelet for the shop.

In case I don't upload again before Christmas, here's to a Happy Holiday Season for everyone!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

2010-11-29T23:58:00.000-08:00

Well, one thing I have to be thankful for this year is that my friend Lori gave me a bunch of those ACEO artist card thingys. I found them a couple of days before Thanksgiving, but sadly I got sick with a doozy of a cold and was out of it for a few days. Decided to wrap this little Thanksgiving themed food monster up today and still post it though even though the holiday has come and gone. (He was supposed to be jellied cranberries from the can that no one bothered to slice up because he scared the bejuzus out of, but he looks more like one of those cups frat boys drink beer out of. . .)

To all my friends and family, I'm always thankful for your love and support.

Bookworms

2010-09-07T01:22:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, in 2005, I did some t-shirt designs. I'd just recently been bit by an insect craze and did about 5 different little bugs, most of which were representations of their names. This was the first time I drew my little bookworm.

Now, 5 years later I was thinking of revisiting him (since the t-shirts were never made) and making him a back to school item in my Etsy Shop. Sadly I think that the back to school shopping has been done, so he won't get made into a charm, but at least he's cuter now.

Yes. . . just for personal fun I've posted both the 2005 and the 2010 version.

Also. . . More Sketchbook doodles!! The crazy happy lady is supposed to be Donetella Versace. She's got funny lips.

150

2010-08-31T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well, whadda ya know. . . 150 blog posts. Although I should probably post something monumental, post 150 is just going to be another sketchbook dump.

While watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition, the guy who was recieveing the makeover caught my attention. He was a quite, manly man from Arkansas. . . spent the whole hour trying to draw what he looked like. Not because he was amazing looking or anything, but because he was so. . . I don't know. *shrugs*

I've never just sat down and drawn people I see on TV. It was actually really fun and Carlos keeps asking to see the page and starts laughing at it.

Speaking of Carlos. . .he got a little pissy with me this afternoon when he called from work. Made me wonder what his day was like so I drew what I thought the other end of the conversation looked like, including his coworker Will. Oh, yeah and the girl next to him is just having that internal battle of trying to decide if she wants to spend the $10 on the purse she likes in the store. :P

And finally. . . posted another Spider Apron in my shop. Had to raise the price, sadly, because a lot more time goes into those damn spider pockets than I was letting on. This particular apron had three separate pockets made for it, but the first two had "problems" and were discarded.

Head back to the land of mischief, aka Work, aka South Park next week. It already looks like it's going to be an interesting run!

Occasionally Homesick

2010-08-24T03:17:00.000-07:00

On exceptionally hot and smoggy days I long for something old and familiar. . . like the fresh air, rain and grunge music. At least I have an endless supply of Pearl Jam on my iPod and winter is coming. :D

Speaking of home, I just recently returned from a wonderful trip home. I was fortunate to spend two weeks up north in the Seattle/Olympia area. As it turns out two weeks was still not enough time to visit everyone so I appologize to Dionne and Jacques for missing them on this trip up too. Next time I'll come up for two weeks and rent a car. . .

(Thanks to my Bro and his wife for letting me crash there and occasionally steal her car.)

Doodle Dumpage

2010-08-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

On my way up to Seattle, I had one of those rare days where I was happy with most of my sketch book doodles. Drew the Harry Potter kids (kind of on accident), what I thought a Canadian Hipster might look like, and had a full metal Frappe courtsey of Tully's in the Burbank Airport.

Umbrella Girl Sketch

2010-07-21T01:02:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been a little busy trying to follow through with projects I've started. Most of them are promises I made a while back and am trying to finish up. Others are new, and have had me going a little crazy.

For example. . . two posts ago I finished up a long over due painting for my friend Irene. Once that was done, I decided to tackle an unfinished Spider Apron I started nearly a year ago as well.

Next up. . . a painting I've owed my sister-in-law for almost two years. It's sad sometimes how family gets set on the back burner. The drawing posted above will more than likely turn into Louise's painting. I'm going to do a few more sketches in the next couple of weeks before I make my final decision, but this one's looking promising.

But more immediately in my future is my first ever adventure to the San Diego Comic Convention. I've been avoiding the Con like the plague ever since I moved here almost 10 years ago. I've heard horror stories about the crowding, the heat, and, of course, the smell. This year would be like all the others, accept that I'm trying to branch out a little from my comfort zone (of my couch) and try new things. This way when I say I HATE COMIC CON, I will have at least experienced it for myself. :D

BWAN is OLD now. . .

2010-07-11T00:39:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I met a little potato farm girl named BWAN. She was the ripe old age of 15 when we met at summer school, and now she's positively ANCIENT.

30 years ago, yesterday, was my dear friend's joyous day of birthing, and as a top secret gift, I contributed a page to a group sketch book. This was my entry.

15 years of friendship entitles me to be mean. . . and silly. I've earned it.

Oh, and this was the Facebook Invite Drawing. Thanks to all the people who could make it out to the party!

Kacheeks In Love for Irene and Alan

2010-07-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

A year ago now, when I was hanging out at Neopets for the summer, an old coworker and friend asked me if I could do a drawing of two Kacheeks (one yellow and one Island) in Chinese Traditional Wedding attire.

When Irene asked me for the drawing, I only intended on doing a marker drawing, but as time dragged on I decided that a painting would be well worth her and her Fiance's wait. I just hope they like it. >_<

I spent more time on this painting than I have on previous ones. I had a very clear vision of what I wanted in my head and worked to try to make it happen as close to my vision as possible this time. I started with some thumbnails, which I then expanded into a very detailed sketch (I usually just doodle something and then draw it strait on the watercolor paper and go).

After the sketch, I scanned it and did some super quick Photoshop color comps. I initially wanted a pink cherry blossom tree, but I went for a more classic tree in the sketch. When I tried to turn the classic tree pink, like a cherry blossom tree, it just didn't work and I just decided to keep it classic.

After the color comps I had to trace the sketch on the watercolor paper twice. The first attempt was an epic failure due to old masking fluid that ripped the entire top layer of paper (including the sketch) off. Once I recovered from the crushing blow of loosing the first painting (the wash on the sky looked REALLY good before it got ruined), I started over with a better brand of masking fluid and the GOOD Arches Watercolor paper. Once the wash was complete and dry, I just finished off the rest of the painting in regular ol' opaque gouache.

Once it was finished I mixed up a little gold gouache and put a thin outline on the heart shaped sky.

The original frame Irene gave me was way too small, so I framed and matted it. Hopefully the painting, the matting and the framing will make up for the year long wait she and her Fiance had to sit through. :/

Baron von Cicula

2010-06-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

Yup, it's a vampire popcicle. . . What? You've never seen one before. I guess you haven't dug deep enough into the back of your freezer lately.

Not entirely sure what I'm going to do with this little guy. I was contemplating turning him into another summer charm or barette, but now I'm not too sure.

**Decision Made**

Baron von Cicula is now available as a cellphone charm in The Crypt of Doom.

Sugar Skulls

2010-06-14T00:34:00.000-07:00

Well, as many of my Facebook friends know (as they have bombarded all week with this), I've created a new design for the Crypt of Doom, and I must say, it's doing rather well.

Like most adorably macabre artists, I have quite a sweet spot for Sugar Skulls, but I've been hesitant to draw any. I think part of it is that I wanted to really try to make my Sugar Skulls look like the actual thing and not one inspired by tattoo art. I love the bold colors and the fun patterns.

Anywho, so far I've used the one design to create the typical Cell Phone Charm, a pair of earrings, and for the first time, a hair clip/bobby pin.

Sugar Skull Cell Phone/ DS Charm

Sugar Skull Post Earrings

Sugar Skull Hair Clip/Bobby Pin

I think I'll probably do one or two more Sugar Skulls (for variety) and then move on to other adorably macabre subject matter. . . like my dear old friend the Voodoo Doll.

This week I'm going to be attempting to finish a long over due painting for a former coworker. Which I will probably post next week once complete.

Sketchbook DUMP!!

2010-06-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

So last week I posted this little print in my shop. Usually I only post my finished paintings in the Crypt of Doom, but something about this sketch is just funny and I thought I'd see what would happen. The first two prints of this (which I've called Career Day) I posted were a special commission and sold right away, but I've posted a third to see if anyone else might like to take it home with them. :)

And the other sketches are fairly self explanitory. I started drawing my fiance as Pig Pen from the Peanuts a while back. Once or twice a week I document his rituals in my sketch book. It can be something he's said to me, or an event we went through together, but most of the time it's how he makes me feel. I wish I could say I make some of this stuff up, but sadly some of it's very real.

Oh, and I do have his permission. He actually prefers me drawing him as a child as to an adult (which you can see in the second sketch).

One final reminder. . . Kids Rock, Saturday, June 12th from 2pm-7pm at Griffith Park's Old Zoo. My little owl painting will be available in an auction.

Kiss the Cook

2010-05-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, I haven't really posted anything I guess since blogger changed their upload template thingy. After much frustration, I have finally figured it out and here is a new post.

This little guy is for a charity event, entitled "Kids Rock," coming up on June 12th at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. Proceeds go to the Children's Nature Institute, which you can learn about more on their website: http://www.cni-kids.org. This little guy above will be part of the "Birds of a Feather" art show at the Kids Rock Festival. I'm not quite sure if he is for auction or if it's a raffle type situation, but if your interested, head over to the Old Zoo at Griffith Park on the 12th of June.

This is what he looks like in his cute little frame. He measures 6"x6" square, and he and his little buddy are ready for summer with their BBQ equipment. Below is the color comps I did in flash while I was procrastinating on actually starting the painting. . .

And this was the original sketch that showed up in my sketch book late one night. I was actually going to do Miss Vulture's Tea Party, but she looked so cute I didn't want to share. Actually every one I showed the sketch too, all turned to the little owl and wanted to know what he was, so he's the one that got made.

So yeah. If your interested in turning out, the flyer is below. :)

Cute Flower Hoarder and a Trash Collector

2010-05-08T00:45:00.000-07:00

Thought these were cute. :)

Sharks

2010-04-29T01:48:00.000-07:00

Had the opportunity to draw some sharks this last week. It took longer than I would have liked to get the ideas flowing, but I loved getting the opportunity to draw a shark.

I think the shark on the top right is my fave, but the bottom right one runs a close second. The top guy kinda looks like he was chewing on rocks or something.

More Gadgets and another Bat

2010-02-11T11:44:00.000-08:00

Well, with Valentine's Day being this Sunday, here is my final lovey-dovey post for the year. :) If you can't tell, bats really do love Valentine's Day.

Any who, this little guy was designed as a back up to the Bat's Kissing drawing. Bat's kissing was supposed to be a cell phone charm for all the little dark darlings out there who enjoy the holiday. Unfortunately, once it shrank, it was a tad too dark and detailed for anyone to see what was going on. So it was back to the drawing board.

And here is the finished Valentine's Day Bat charm. It's on sale in my little Crypt of Doom as we speak (read?).

And yes, I drew more Gadgets. I was lucky enough to get a test for a yet undisclosed boy's action show that is to be set 5 years into the future. They needed some gadgets and a vehicle to see if I could cut the mustard. . . and although I cut the cheese instead, it was a lot of fun to work on.

Bats Love Valentine's Day

2010-01-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

Bat's are so CUTE!

I was trying to think what would be a good Valentine's day treat for my Crypt of Doom, and stumbled upon this idea.

I will probably turn it into a cellphone charm. I also want to do a snotty heart. Hopefully both of those items will be available in the shop before weekend's end.

Gadgets are cool. . .

2010-01-22T01:22:00.000-08:00

Decided to draw some manly stuff today. Was just randomly struck by the desire to do so. And now I'm randomly sharing them with everyone.
Crossbows are cool, and chicks who use them are even cooler. . .especially if they have red hair.

Skull Heads!! (New Year Image Dump)

2010-01-17T23:27:00.000-08:00

Yes, I do love me some Skull Head action, and now I'm adding these skull-tastic earrings to my inventory over in my shop.

I had to test out my new spider web edge punch from the evil Martha Stewart (I want to hate you, but the older I get the harder it becomes. . . why do you make such awesome stuff?) by making a fancy little doily to set them on for their big Etsy portrait.

And this is their extreme close up. They're boogery.

I've been trying to give all my stuff I send out to nice people who buy my stuff on Etsy a little something special in the way of packaging. For the Cell Charms I've been making little drawstring pouches out of spider web fabric. For the earrings, I wanted to make little cards for them to attach too. Similar to the kind you'd pick up at a store, but with more boogers. Literally.

And finally, my Dear Friend Dani was nice enough to let me put them in her ears and take a photo. No worries though, I made multiples and gave her this pair as a thank you for letting me take a picture of her sexy, sexy ear lobes. (I should probably write that in the Etsy description so that people don't think they're getting cootie filled earrings.)

In other news, I got engaged. Here is a pic of my fancy, schmancy ring (for the few family members who still stop by). It's black diamonds on a white gold setting. It's beautiful. :D

And this is a pic of me crying afterwards, well not crying but all puffy from crying after he asked.

And this is a pic of my stove. The door shattered while I was sleeping a little over a week ago. I now have a brand new stove, which I have christened with Shrinky Dinks.

And, finally, I'm taking an interesting class at the Animation Guild instructed by Karl Gnass. I was skeptical at first, because I was having to draw anthropomorphic animals and I was afraid that my boss would find this counter productive, but I'm not anymore. I'm having fun. Here's some of those sketches.

One thing I've learned from this class. . . when the model is an attractive, fit woman, don't draw them as a chubby puppy. :P

Cellphone Charms of MASS DESTRUCTION!!

2010-01-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Okay, they're only of mass destruction because it took me a month and all 6 sheets of my ink jet shrinky dink paper to figure out that I wasn't cooking them LONG enough. Fortunately when I figured that bone headed move out I was able to save the half of them that I hadn't put sealant on yet.

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out honestly. The ink jet shrinky dink paper is pretty awesome. I had some problems at first due to my printer and trying to figure out the proper setting for it. Then was the cooking problem, which I already described, but after that was all fixed and resolved, each of the charms received two coats of the sealant recommended on the packaging. Then for good measure I did a Krylon spray varnish coat. Hopefully that seals them for a while. :D I added little badges to them, as you can see from the photo, which has my web address on them. I guess they're kind of like fancy little business cards!

Anywho, if your interested they're available in my Etsy Shop for $4 a piece ($2 for shipping).

Squid Apron Progress

2009-12-17T21:33:00.000-08:00

So I've started, or nearly finished, my next apron. The spider aprons were a success, so now we move onto baby squid. The main part of the apron is finished, with the waist being hand sewn strips of ribbon. For the first time I used clear thread and it was so nice!! I gave the apron satin waist ties that looked super cute in a bow when I tried it on just before the photo. My favorite part still has to be the sushi fabric. I had to scour the internet for enough fabric to be able to make more than one apron, but it was worth it!! This weekend I'll probably start/finish the squid pocket and then take the apron for fancy Ambitious Misfit photos after the new year.

Hot Rod

2009-12-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

Wierdly Wonderful!!

2009-12-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm super pumped and shocked. I've had my first piece in my Etsy Shop featured on the site, and it couldn't have been in a better article.

I guess one of the moderators goes around and finds weird stuff in the shops for the different seasons, and she featured the fruitcake!! The last couple days I'd noticed the painting had an abnormal amount of views and finally got smart enough to Google searched it, and WA-LA!! Featured in a quick little article located here:

http://www.etsy.com/storque/etc/keep-it-weird-mangy-manger-6353/

Any attention to the shop is good attention, right? I won't worry unless it gets posted on Regretsy. :D

Another Wednesday Gone By

2009-11-11T22:49:00.000-08:00

. . . and another Crypt of Doom Update!!

Well, one week left to the South Park Season 13 madness, and believe me, I can't wait to sleep.

I've been contemplating starting to sell prints of some of my paintings in my Etsy Shop for a couple weeks now and I spent all of my day off doing test prints on my Epson to see if it was worth the time or money. I must say, the prints look pretty darn good. I'm still running tests with the 5 Star matte paper. It's supposed to be pretty colorfast, but my ink isn't archival and they don't make that kind of ink for my printer, so I got an archival fixative/varnish to spray on the prints. I'm going to hold off posting any in the shop until I can run a proper 'exposure' test (a test print inside the house and a test print directly in the hot California sun for a couple days should do). After the results are in, there will probably be prints of the two pieces in the ad, as well as one more, up before Thanksgiving.

Crypt of Doom Update

2009-11-05T23:14:00.000-08:00

Hey Y'all.

As I've said in the past, when I'm in the middle of a run over at work, I neglect everything. Including family. :(

This last Wednesday was my first day off that I've been able to do absolutely nothing, so I spend the day immersing myself in pretty pictures. In the process I realized that even though I recently put an older painting in a gallery show, it was one I'd never put up on my blog. . . so here it is all framed and pretty.

It's title is simple, just "Bobby and the Banshee". I put it in the Gala Benefit show over at Monkeyhouse Toys in Silverlake, CA. So if you missed it and you'd like to take it home with you *wink, wink* you can head on over to the Crypt of Doom at Etsy.

I also posted my "Green Eggs and Ham" tribute piece over there as well as unleashing "Ferocious Fruitcake" just in time for the holidays. :D

I was feeling so productive that I also finally got up off my dead butt and started the pattern making process for the baby squid apron I posted a design for a year ago. Keep checking back through the next month for updates on that. I'm also going to be posting a third, slightly different version of my spider apron up in my Etsy Shop, a.k.a. the Crypt of Doom before the holidays. In case anyone is interested.

5 Years

2009-10-21T01:18:00.000-07:00

Well, five years ago yesterday, my boyfriend and I decided to stick to each other like glue. Through all the good times and bad, we've stuck it out so far and I look forward to many more years with him.

He says I never draw him, so in honor of 5 years, here's a drawing for the Bun.

La La Land

2009-10-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm officially in the middle of another run here at work. The first episode of the second half of season 13 airs tomorrow night (Wednesday, October 7th, 2009). We've been pretty busy getting something nice and offensively funny ready for people.

We've been sketching a lot at work lately. We expanded something we started last run called "Kreative KY: Lubrication for Our Funny Bones", so now we doodle for 20 minutes every morning. We've been posting them every week over on the website Issuu. I'm in charge of making sure everyone's stuff is up and pretty looking.

Below is a quick image I made for the cover. I wanted to do one of those flat owls everyone LOVES so much. So here's my weird owly-bird thingy. I would call him "Owlor", but I decided that this is Owlor's little brother Cletus.

On the 24th I'll be participating in another Art Show over at Monkeyhouse Toys. It's superhero themed, and since I'm workin' like a mad lady, I'll be showing the Wonder Woman piece from the "Golden Age of Heroes" show again.

"Firefly" Chairty Show at Monkey House Toys

2009-09-18T00:10:00.001-07:00

Another last minute notice type thing, but this weekend, over at Monkeyhouse Toys in Silverlake, CA, there is a charity artshow/sale going on. I'll have an older piece entitled "Bobby and the Banshee" up for sale. If your around, stop by and take a look at the nifty pictures and contemplate donating to a good cause.

"Sweet Streets" and "Oh, the Art You Will See"

2009-08-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

Greetings all! This weekend I'll be participating in two more group gallery shows. First up, is "Oh, the Art You Will See" at Monkeyhouse Toys in Silverlake, CA (from 4pm-8pm). It's a group show of works inspired by Dr. Seuss stories. As a kid, my favorite story was "Green Eggs and Ham", so yeah. That's it.

Second, I'll be displaying the "2-D Fruity" guitar in Gallery Nucleus' group show entitled "Sweet Streets". It's a show based on those crazy Japanese kids and their truly unique fashion sense. "Sweet Streets" opening will Saturday, August 29th from 7pm-10pm in Alhambra, CA.

Truly Outragous!

2009-07-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

So, I did an all-nighter Monday night to finish this little ditty. It's for another group gallery show, this one at Monkeyhouse Toys in Silverlake, CA. It's just a little get together of some local artists displaying artwork based on their favorite 80's toys. If you're in the neighborhood, stop on by. It's Saturday, August 1st from 4pm-8pm.

Obviously (or maybe not, took the gallery owner at Monkeyhouse a little while to get it) I loved Jem Dolls as a kid. Had Jem, but always wanted Pizzazz and Stormer. Also making a cameo is my very well loved Care Bear Cousin, Cozy Heart. No he didn't have an eye patch when I was a kid, but he had some paint scraped off his eyes and probably should have.

See flyer below:

*unaltered image available here.*

Independence Weekend Gallery Shows!

2009-06-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

So for people in the Los Angeles area, I was just reminded that Gallery Nucleus is having the "Kiss from Tokyo" book signing and gallery exhibition this Friday night, July 3rd from 7-10pm. A friend of mine's got a piece in the show, and not to mention that the other artist's stuff looks pretty sweet too (from what I've seen on the blogs anyway)! The show is up til the 14th, so if you can't make it opening night, then you've got two weeks!

Also, once again, "Golden Age Heroes" same night, same time, only at Brave New Worlds in Philadelphia, PA. Check it out if you're an East Coaster in the neighborhood!

Update:

The Autumn Society posted a few photo's of the event up on their Flickr account. If you squint you can see my piece. :P

AH-ha-ha! I WIN!!

2009-06-29T00:34:00.000-07:00

So, a month ago a friend of mine spoke to a friend of her's to get me into a gallery show in Philadelphia, Pa called the "Golden Age of Heroes" hosted by The Autumn Society. I was really excited and super pumped to do a piece based on old school comics, and of course being a huge Wonder Woman dork, I already knew I HAD to do something with her in it.

Then my summer job started. . . and I missed the deadline. . . oh well. BUT THEN, i grew some balls, contacted one of the curators and asked if I could still submit it. He said as long as the piece is there by July 1st, it's all good. And thanks to the AWESOME UPS dudes at our local UPS branch, they said it should show up on the 1st. So, Philadelphia here I COME!! :D

Thanks so much to the guys at the The Autumn Society again for letting me take part in this! There's no better way to honour the 4th than through awesome classic cartoons and comic characters?

Fashion Drawing Class (Half Way)

2009-06-02T22:09:00.000-07:00

So I registered for this really short 6 week class on Fashion and Costume Design. It's a night class, with only 5 students. I'm enjoying it, for the most part. The teacher is new to teaching adults, so it's interesting how he deals with us. The part I've found the most interesting is how BAD I've been at it. I've had the class now for 4 weeks, only two left to go, and the 5 of us in the class are all struggling with getting the figure drawn in the correct 'fashion design' way. My personal problem is that I've been drawing thicker girls lately and I've completely forgotten how to draw anorexic chicks. :)

Anyway, not all my stuff is bad. . . Did these three little guys in my "journal" we've been keeping for the class. Just your regular old boring drawing from a magazine, but I'm really happy with the anorexia level and the marker stuff. (It's been more fun learning a new way to use my markers, not to mention actually using colors I've never used.)

Rainbow Roller Girl

2009-04-30T19:31:00.001-07:00

YAY!! Vacation time! In celebration of the upcoming summer. . . and my first week of break, it's the Farrah Fawcett/Rainbow Bright collision of awesomeness!! It took forever to get my brain to not want to give it South Park eyes. :P

Next week I start my summer Neopets job. I'm really excited to be going to hang out with my friends again and doing all sorts of props and clothing. I can't WAIT for a 40 hour work week!

Crypt of Doom: Update

2009-04-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well, since I finally have the time to update my Etsy Shop, I decided to pick a few boogers from the archive and throw them up there and see if anyone is interested in taking them home.

Movin' Along

2009-04-21T23:47:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, FREEDOM!! Summer hiatus has arrived and I'm beyond excited for it!

First off, some drawings! I went rooting through the supply cupboard at work and found some prismacolor markers and decided to draw some monkeys from a flickr photosstream. Turned out nicer than I had anticpated since I haven't drawn monkeys or with markers in a LONG ASS TIME.

Second, these didn't get used at work, but thought they were slightly amusing if not highly offensive. They were vis-dev sketches from one of Cartman's flashback sequences in the "Fishsticks" episode. Don't know if I can get into trouble for posting stuff from my personal sketchbook or not, so I put copyright info at the bottom just to try to save my butt a little. Also below is the South Park equivalent of 100 push ups. . . if you suck at thumbnailing.

And, finally, I'm super happy to say that both my aprons sold on ETSY!!! I was so excited that I had to package them ultra super special for their trips to their new homes. Carlos said that the mail lady looked at him funny when he took them into the post office. That's my goal, freaking out one postal service attendant at a time. ;)

Boobies

2009-04-02T00:25:00.000-07:00

So, um, yeah. . . I don't know why I made her topless. . . sometimes I just don't wanna draw clothes on them. Maybe it's like a deep seeded psychosis rooted in the fact that I never wanna get out of bed in the morning, hence not getting dressed. . . although I always live in my Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters pjs, and that's kinda dressed. . . right? Rambling again. Time for bed.

In case you're curious, it was done in Corel Draw X3 and was inspired by this artist I found on Deviantart that goes by the name Blush Art.

My Morning Commute

2009-03-28T18:54:00.001-07:00

So, my boss encouraged me to try making a 6 panel comic of how I get to work in the morning. This was the result.

Janey the Zombie Tramp Pin-Up

2009-03-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

So an old friend of mine contacted me through DeviantArt and asked me if I'd do a pin-up for him of his new comic book character. Being a nice friend and not doing too many pin-ups anymore, I said sure.

It's flash, but I tried layering textures in photoshop on it afterwords.

Birds for Brianne

2009-03-19T00:33:00.001-07:00

So I showed these to Brianne a couple of weeks back and she said I should do another page of them, but I just like to sleep on my day off (and do storyboarding or corel exercises) so here's an old sketchbook page.

Happy 30th Birthday, Bunny!

2009-03-12T03:21:00.000-07:00

So today is Carlos' 30th birthday. I stayed up late last night/this morning making him a card so he'd feel special and stuff.

Oh, and we also had a G.I.Joe party. For more funny G.I.Joe birthday party pics, check out our Flickr set. They're just plain ol' silly. :)

Side note, I was really excited to see today that the first season of South Park I worked on came out on DVD on Tuesday!!! I had to buy it I was so pumped!

Creature Colored

2009-02-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

So a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I sketched a cute little "Creature from the Pink Lagoon". My friends demanded a colored version but I forgot about her and had all these grand ideas in mind for her that never did anything but sit stagnant in my mind. Until now.

I finally got up off my dead butt today and did something with her, primarily making her the new image on my website's contact page.

Jury Duty

2009-02-03T21:07:00.000-08:00

So, for the last two and a half weeks I've been on jury duty. It's an interesting process. Back in December when I was supposed to serve, I wound up postponing again so I could go get snowed in in Washington with my family. That time I died my hair blue to try to get out of it, this time my hair was normal so I got selected. I even told them under oath where I worked during selection in hopes that the conservative old people that were the defendants and plaintiffs would not want someone like me. Obviously that didn't work, so I've been taking advantage of the time to read "Shot by Shot", do some doodling, practice a little, and mostly sketch all the people around the courthouse.

The Crypt of DOOM!!

2009-01-30T23:55:00.000-08:00

Well, one of my many goals for the last year or so has finally come to fruition, I've been promising myself I'd open and online shop and thanks to Etsy I can finally cross that off my list.

Right now there is just the one item, but I hope to post things from time to time, like the Squid Apron, some guitars and other paintings.

So please feel free to stop by The Crypt of DOOM!! and see what's taking place from time to time.

Oh,and in case you were curious, the AWESOME photographs of the apron could not have been achieved with out the help of my good friend the Ambitious Misfit and Nicole the model. Here's one of my personal favorites from the shoot. . . I just love the expression on her face!

Something New and Blue. . . Something Borrowed Too

2009-01-18T00:58:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not getting married, but the saying worked so well I used it. And yes the something old is actually borrowed (kinda).

Anyway, the something blue and something new is actually 3 very tiny paintings.

Carlos' Grandmother is Turning 90 today and I wanted to give her something small to keep close. So one of these adorable 1.5"x2" paintings, based on my babies Isis and Nico, will be keeping Abulita company, and hopefully close to her heart.

The something old and borrowed is actually very old and "borrowed" from my parents. When I was 13 I was in my 'Disney Phase' as I call it, and every month for almost 4 years I did a 'magazine' cover. Not having cable when I grew up, we never had the Disney Channel and I didn't find out til I was older and had grown out of my phase that there really was a "Disney Magazine" that I guess was kinda like a TV guide for the channel or something. Anyway, just for giggles, I scanned one of the oldest one's from 1991 and one of the last from the set made in 1994. It was a complete hoot when I stumbled upon these atrocities of my childhood, but heartwarming at the same time. Nothing took me back to my childhood quicker than these drawings done in cheap marker/color pencil and glittery fabric paint. . . I should be embarrassed, but I'm not.

Calamari!!

2009-01-03T01:30:00.000-08:00

Brainstorming my next apron. Found some cute sushi fabric and thought it might be fun to do another baby squid.

Happy Holidays Everybody!!

2008-12-24T10:24:00.001-08:00

Here is a little "Ferocious Fruitcake" to keep you company for the holidays. He's seeking revenge on all of you who grumble, complain and roll their eyes at him when he is given to you out of the kindness of someone's heart for the holiday season. Actually, he's just really pissed that a fly is trying to eat some of his maraschino goodness.

So, this break, I decided that (with the exception of my work drills) I wasn't going to do any work of any kind and make myself relax. As part of my relaxation I decided that I was going to go home to Seattle (technically Union, WA now as my parents moved from the city) for 2 and a half weeks for the holidays. Of course, since I'm a jinx, I brought an unnatural weather anomaly with me. :)

Nucleus Red Cross Holiday (Silent) Auction

2008-12-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

So, just recently I was asked if I'd like to donate some of my pieces that have previously been shown at Gallery Nucleus to them for a Silent Auction on behalf of the Red Cross. In the e-mail request they were saying that they'd like to donate the proceeds to them to help out all the recent Southern Cali fire victims. Of course I said sure thing! I beleive the following pieces will be up for auction; Devil's Food Cake, and Rainbow Sprinkles.

Anyway, there's going to be a lot of cool stuff, and it's a silent auction (which is always exciting), so if someone who loves art that you care about is still in the market for an awesome christmas gift. . . well you know what you should do. ;) AND you'd be helping all the newly homeless people from the fires during the season of giving. . . so it's a win-win situation! Cool artwork for YOU and helping others in need!!

I Made IT!! (Something to be Thankful For)

2008-11-26T04:19:00.000-08:00

My first year at South Park has officially come to a close. Season 12 is now in the can, with the last episode having aired and all the hiatus goodbyes having been said. [Above image obviously copyrite Comedy Central or South Park or whatever it's supposed to be. Oh, and MOM LOOK!! The two little vampires on the left are mine,sorta. Adrien tweeked them a little. :D]

The second half of the run turned out to be far more exciting and enjoyable than I had imagined it would be. We got to play with giant Guinea-saus Rexs (or Guinea Bees, which ever you think is cuter), welcome a Jewel Thief into the Oval Office, see Wendy finally kick the CRAP outta Cartman, and probably the most fun I've had yet, see Butters turn into a vampire and be saved by the the burning of Hot Topic. I'm so excited to have been a part of it and so greatful to be returning in a couple of months.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here's a little list of the things I'm greatful for. I'm greatful to have spent a good portion of my year learning from some very talented, funny, but mostly mentally off kilter artist/storytellers. I look forward to February with both good and bad butterflies in my tummy. I'm even more greatful that I have a wonderful, loving family both here in LA (in the form of supportive and amazing friends) and back home. I'm so glad you guys know me well enough to realize that you should NEVER CALL before Noon on Wednesdays. But, more than anything in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD, I'm super-duper thankful for seeing the light and deciding to NOT DO ANYTHING for the next two months.

Sorry for the sappy post, for those who have read this far. I PROMISE the next post will have something amazingly awesome, and preferably a drawing/painting/apron/crusty booger or something other than me rambling off all the things I'm thankful for. :p

Work Doodle

2008-11-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

Sketch Dump

2008-10-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

So here's a couple random drawings. One from figure drawing a few weeks back and the other two from my small sketchbook I keep in my purse. I draw a little on the big side so I've been trying to draw smaller. Also, I've been looking at the book "How to Draw the Marvel Way" as per the suggestion of a couple of guys at work (mainly for help defining volumes in a simple and quick way), and I decided to apply some of their head structure tricks to my own doodles. The face on the left is the scariest thing I think I've drawn to date. Kinda made me happy that I managed to make something a little creepy instead of creepy-cute.

All DONE!!

2008-09-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

So, in a miracle to beat all miracles. . . well in my world anyway, Carlos found my missing sewing machine part under the bed when he reorganizing stuff. He didn't know what it was and honestly though it was like a piece of our toilet or something, but I gave him tons of kisses for finding it. :) I was actually able to finish JUST before I went back to work. So now I'm all excited for the next break and to try making some more.

It's Over ALREADY?!?!

2008-09-04T23:09:00.000-07:00

NOOOOOOO!! It can't be time to go back to work already. BOOOOO.

Well, my summer, as you can probably see by lack of posts, has been far more busy than I would have liked it to have been. When I started my break, I had this HUGE list of things I wanted to do with my freetime. I figured 4 months would be more than enough time to: make a short film; pratice my storyboarding; finish my 3 old paintings that I've been dinking around with for over a year now; make a million really cute aprons; do a painting for my brother's fiance in celebration of her graduating; make a couple t-shirts for my brother; do a couple of paintings for Nicole's house of her monster children; take the transportation design class at Art Center; go to life drawing; and finally, do 400 freelance items for the website I work at on the side. . . Oh, and go out of town and spend time sleeping and recooperating for another crazy run.

Needless to say, um, I only got about a 16th of that list done. Got two old paintings done, as I posted; took the car class; and did my freelance which wound up taking the entire 4 months thanks to the car class assigning more homework than I had my entire 4 years at CalArts. . .

Anyway. Enough bitching. Last week I was FINALLY able to start working on my aprons. I've gotten one almost complete. Unfortunately I discovered that a very importan part I need for my sewing machine is missing, and being the dinosaur of a human being I am, my machine is a little on the old side. . .

. . . like the 50 year old side. So finding the part is probably going to take me until my next break 11 weeks from now. So until I get my part. . . here's my apron's progress.

I went for a half apron instead of a full apron, as in the drawing I did at the beginning of the summer. I'm thinking it was a far better choice, as half aprons are super cute. And once I teach my self how to applique and find my missing fashion disc part, the spider pocket will be the perfect finishing touch.

Now for some people, who are close to me, they got very, VERY tired of me mentioning my freelance. Most people didn't know what it was, as I don't talk about it very much (other than to say, it drives me nuts and counting down the days until it's completion), but now that the site is doing well, I guess I'll mention it for anyone who is curious.

I've spent time off and on for the last year doing clothing items for a webgame sponsored by Lifetime TV called DressUpChallenge.com. It's essentially a virtual paper doll website. Sadly it's very addicting for women, so much so that in the 9 months since it re-launched, it went from 10,000 users to over 400,000 users. It's pretty crazy. The users all hate the daily 'prizes' I make, as it forces them to use their imaginations (OMG, a dress from the 1920's?! How preposterous!!). Anyway, it's been fun working with the people over at Burner Studios on this project with them, and I wanted to say thanks for the opportunity, just in case they stop by.

For fun one day, I tweeked one of the dresses I made (I DID NOT draw the figure, only the hair and dress, the avi was created by the artist before me). I had to do a Marie Antoinette dress, wig, and fan. The dress was a lot of fun. It took me over 11 hours to complete. As my boss would say, I got lost in the pretty, but I didn't care. It was so much fun!!

Anyway, here is. The version that will show up in the game is completely different and is actually a skirt and a top. I wonder if the users will hate it as much as they hated the wig? :)

Ahhh. . . Much Better

2008-08-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

Probably to my father's great displeasure, I've once again delved into the relm of beautifully, and boldly, colored tresses!!

The initial goal was neon green hair, but I think I let the bottle of die sit around too long (2 years) so my hair looks more teal than I had originally wanted, but I'm not complaining because I feel so much BETTER now!

The drawing was quick and dirty just to illustrate what the style looks like. . . I hate takin' pics, but if I get a good one I'll post it for friends and family to see.

Fruits Go Go

2008-07-09T01:06:00.000-07:00

So from August 2nd thru the 17th, I'm going to be participating in a gallery show organized by Caro. It's going to be at Monkeyhouse Toys and Gallery in Silverlake, CA and titled "Fruits Go Go". I wish I can say I'm doing something amazing, fantabulous, and new, but quite honestly an old piece of mine is finally getting it's time in the spotlight. "2D Fruity", the very 1st custom guitar I did with my BF, Mr. CMF, will finally get to be seen by the world, or at least people in Silverlake, Ca. (Although I do hope to have enough time to maybe do one more little piece before then, as I do truly love those crazy kids fashion ideas. They truly are a source of inspiration.)

If the flier is anything to judge the show by (which it usually is), it should be a bright and cheery show full of fun stuff. So if your in the LA area and bored, and have a lot of patience to try to find parking in Silverlake, please do come by and see all the nifty stuff.

P.S. When I say patience, I actually mean about 20 Valium in your system. It's a beautiful place, but I wouldn't wanna park there. ;)

Update!!

Well, being the HUGE dork that I am, when I found that Vynal Pulse did a small write up on the "Fruits GoGo" show, I just HAD to post a link. Not only did they take a picture of the guitar for their site, but my attractive back side made it into two shots. Go me!! :P

Mini City Commuter Hearse

2008-07-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

So, my midterm projects were due this week. We had to do presentations in front of the class as to why we were so much more awesome than our classmates. I really wish I could say I was kidding, but the teacher literally sat us down the week before and said we should go up to the front and introduce our selves and then say "my project is superior to these other projects because of . . . "

Anywho, above is the side view and the rear three-quarter view of my Mini City Commuter Car project. The images below are my presentation boards. We were instructed to create a client that was in need of a mini city commuter and cater our design towards this fictious person's needs. Ms. Ivey Bohem, the Hollywood shoe designer wanted a stylish hybrid vehicle to put around LA in. What she got, was a stylish mini HEARSE, mainly because I just really wanted to draw a hearse. :D

In the end, for my first real car renderings, I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I'm hoping to find the time to go back and make a front 3/4 view rendering, because the best part of the car is it's face, which I based off of a spider and the Packard Hawk (which I think looks like a catfish).

My Little Hand Mixer

2008-06-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

So, Wednesday nights are Transportation design in my class, but MONDAY night is devoted to Product Design. I think I enjoy product design a little more. This is one of the renderings I did of a Hand Mixer for my midterm project. It's supposed to be 50's retro, but my teacher said that it's taking on more of an art deco feel. Either way I'm just excited that I'm finally learning how to render metal more accurately!

Friday the 13th. . .

2008-06-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

. . .of JUNE!!!

Okay, Okay, I know I'm a couple of days late, but it's more of a recap post for the familia anyway. :)

So, I was lucky enough, or unlucky if you're crazy superstitious, enough to be born on the 13th, and this year, aside from having the awesome luck of my birthday being on a Friday, it was also my 30th birthday!!! Now, being the little black spot on society that I am, I find Friday the 13th to be my good luck day. Call it positive thinking, reverse superstition, whatever, but I think it's an awesome omen that to bring to an end my 3rd complete decade on this planet, I get to celebrate on my good luck day. :) AND, not to mention, I actually had a birthday party for once, be it very small, AND I finally got to have my mini Friday the 13th marathon!!

It was an ultra super awesome birthday, (and to anyone who's curious, no I do not feel old, I'm actually super excited to be 30) and this fast, super sketchy (which I'm supposed to be praticing NOT being sketchy, but I don't care) little self portrait is to commemorate the occasion!

YAY, Birthdays!

P.S. To friends and family I told about my awesome present from Potatofarmgirl, click here to see it in all it's awesomeness!!

P.P.S. In case you're curious, I'm holding my Mighty Muggs Bespin Luke action figure and the most awesome Blythe doll EVER MADE!!! (Thanks guys, I totally love it! I also was lucky enough to get General Grevious and Emperor Palpatine, but I only have two hands and didn't feel like drawing myself as a spider just so I could hold all my nifty action figures.

On a final note, for your viewing pleasure: Carlos being sat on by Tom. Amazingly, extremely drunk people are very light.

Spider Apron

2008-05-30T04:30:00.000-07:00

Where Boogers Fear to Tread

2008-05-22T23:19:00.000-07:00

So as I may have said before, my boss suggested I challenge myself and take a class during my break. I also may have said that I was totally unobservant and didn't realize until the first day of class that it was a CAR design class. I've already learned a few tricks of the trade and rules about cars I'd never realized before (like the distance between front and rear tire, on average is 3 and a half tire widths; and the average car is about 2 tires tall, with a one third glass to two thirds metal ratio). So I thought it might be fun to put up some of my first car drawings. I'll post my last assignment as well, just in case it might be fun for people to compare beginning of class to end of class work.

Pretty Pretty Princess Loki

2008-05-16T06:22:00.000-07:00

FINALLY!

You ever notice how if family asks you for something, you procrastinate on it FOREVER? That's the case here with "Pretty Pretty Princess". My Grandmother asked me for a painting, since my mom and Aunt have one, and I told her sure. . . well that was Christmas 2 and a half years ago now (I think). The sketch for this sat around for a year before I finally had time off to work on it. Did my first all nighter when I didn't have to in a while to complete it, but I find it amusing.

In other news, I was insane and completely unobservant when my boss suggested I take a class this summer. Even though I read the description it didn't fully register what I got myself into until the first day of class. . . and now I'm kicking myself. Mind you, it's something I know nothing about so it's cool and I like learning new stuff, but seriously, Transportaion design? By the end of the summer, I'll be able to draw cars like a mo-fo, even though I'm not really sure I WANT to. :P

Update!! May 30th, 2008

I got "Pretty Pretty Princess" back from the framer on Tuesday. It turned out pretty decent I think. I tried to frame it so that it would look good with the painting as well as good with my Grandma's stuff. I hope It works out okay. There's just way too much pink going on in this thing for my personal taste, but, as I've said, it's not mine, so it's okay. Besides, it was nice to do something out of hte ordinary for me.

Also, as you can see below, I got my birthday presnts early! This is Nico, my new little girl. We got her from the Burbank Animal Shelter almost two weeks ago now. We were shocked at how quickly she and Loki hit it off. We kept them separated for about three days (it was supposed to be a week, but Carlos kept "accidentally" leaving the bathroom door open) before they met. Loki had a kitty crush immediately, and to our great surprise, Nico reciprocated the crush, and now we see cuddling kitties everywhere in the house.

The cuddling is enough to make me puke sometimes. Not to mention, I'm a tiny bit jealous cause Loki doesn't talk to me anymore and is "too cool" to let me snuggle with him. My little man is growing up!

Sleight of Hand

2008-05-02T02:48:00.000-07:00

Way back when, 2001 to be exact, I was a bright eyed, bushy tailed freshman in animation school. . . okay bright eyed, but hidden behind an emo glare. :D

Anyway, "Sleight of Hand" is my very first film. For not knowing what the hell I was doing 9 months prior to it's completion, I think it turned out pretty well. And one of the many things I learned the hard way from that particular film was, when the Tech people tell you that there's new fangled technology and that you should use it, DO NOT LISTEN to the UPPER CLASSMEN and do it the old way. . . because a few years down the line, Mac's may not recognize your video compressor and you just might have to rebuild the film from scratch.

I like learning the hard way. . . builds character. :P

Back From The Dead

2008-04-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it. Made it through my very first run over at South Park, and now I'm on my very first hiatus EVER!!! I feel like I'm back in school on Summer Vacation again, only instead of finding a job for the summer, I'm resting and going to school.

I'm really excited because I've been given the opportunity to go take a class up at Art Center. I've heard it's very structured and very different from CalArts so I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Oh, and just to get it out of my system, it was SO COOL to see my name in the credits of something on TV for the first time! Some people may take it for granted, but seriously, it's a moment I'm going to remember for the rest of my life.

Now, if you read these things, and you've made it this far, you may be asking yourself, what's with an Easter painting almost 2 months late? Well technically, this painting is more like one year and 2 months late. I actually posted it up around April of last year as a work in progress, but time got away from me and I never went back to it. Until today that is. See I made myself a list of New Years Resolutions, and one of them was to finish all my old paintings before I could allow myself to start a new one. Unfortunately I had to break it when the Power In Numbers 3 came along, but now I'm back to the promises I've made for myself. I've only got two more to finish before I can have fun with some new ideas, and I can't wait to get them done.

Quick and Dirty

2008-04-10T04:54:00.000-07:00

Things have been so crazy the last couple of months, but I'm honestly looking forward to my first break between seasons EVER in two weeks. I just couldn't allow myself to go to bed tonight with out doing SOMETHING un-work related.

Angler Fishy

2008-03-01T23:29:00.001-08:00

Well, things are just starting to get busy at work.

Had a day off today and used it to finish my painting for "Power in Numbers 3" over at Gallery Nucleus. This year proceeds go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. As usual with the "Power In Numbers" show(s), there's no theme, just a size restriction, so "Angler Fishy" is 7"x5" and painted in Gouache.

Oh, and here's the flyer for "Power In Numbers 3". Since I probably won't have another post for a couple of months, the show is April 15th, and all pieces are $100 and all proceeds go, as I said before, to the Make a Wish Foundation. There's some really AMAZING artists in this show, and with all pieces of art work going for a $100 bucks a pop (and the money going to a great cause), it's a show not to miss.

Life Drawing. . . Again

2008-02-17T18:30:00.000-08:00

So, I sadly realized that it's been a year since the last time I made it to a life drawing class. Things were so crazy last year that an entire year of my time slipped away from me! Not that things aren't crazy this year as well, but I took the time to finally go to life drawing. I was so rusty, but I like this one.

My boss keeps stressing "story" like trying to express story, or find story in everything. I guess with this one, I thought of a lonly little sailor girl, who was stood up by her date or something. Although it's probably more like a stripper who's had a bad night and is pouting because she didn't get any tips.

Anyway, YAY! Life drawing. I'm promising myself I'm going to go every week during my breaks. Lets see if I can keep that promise to myself. ;)

Ultrasupermega Nerd

2008-02-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

So,the job has been an intense learning experience so far. Things are going well, at least I think they are. :) (I'm not fired yet, so that's GREAT sign.)

Anyway, after 16 hours of drawing circles (I wish I could say I'm kidding, but I'm not) I think I've achieved a higher level of being in the universe. It was kinda like drawing meditation and water drop torture at the same time. Either way I've come out of it a changed person. :D

After my circle drills, I was finally able to move onto developing a shorthand version of the characters for storyboards. I know, you're probably thinking, but it's "SOUTH PARK!! There's nothing to it!! Lets just say I'm retarded and leave it at that. On many levels. (Especially the level in which I felt an undying need to POST my retarded shorthand characters.) In time, I'll be able to draw them with my eye's closed just like the rest of the guys!

Goin' on Down to South Park

2008-01-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

Well, this year has started out with quite a shock. An unexpected one at that.

Back in September, when Carlos and I were thinking of moving to Washington (as the cost of living was becoming a challenge for us here in LA) my friend Valerie recommended me to some people over on the TV show South Park. I went in, met with the director, took a test and turned in. Having done a couple tests in the past, I waited about a month, and when I didn't hear anything back from them, I just kinda forgot about it.

Two and a half weeks ago, they called and offered me a position. It's been crazy leaving Neopets so quickly and diving into work over at South Park, but really fun and exciting.

Above is a duplicate of the South Park Avatar my boyfriend made of me a few months back. When he originally made it, it had a funny bathroom behind it. At the time it pissed me off cause he always draws me pissed off. . . but then I realized it's true. I am always pissed off. :) (Naw, not really.)

Better Late Than Never

2007-12-31T16:41:00.000-08:00

So my vacation has been awesomely relaxing so far. Didn't even mind taking a break in the middle to go back to work for a day and a half. :) It's been really fun, and I got drunk and took over the Rock Band mic over at my homies Vinny and Nat's place. And in my drunken stupor, I had the revelation to create this little beauty. :P

Long story short, I saw a TON of people this year doing pin up girls. . . and I thought about Christmas and all the sterotypical pin ups that people do and decided I wanted to make an un-anorixic pin up girl, in a tasteful pose wearing something you don't normally see worn by sexy chicks during the holidays. (One of my coworkers also said I'd be fulfilling my furry quota for the year by finishing this. . . so rock on with my bad self.)

Anyway, it's marker and gouache. It's about 11" x 14". It's been cropped a little cause Loki sat on it a couple times with dirty paws and got little smudges on the white spots. Stupid kitty. :P

Oh, and for your viewing pleasure. . . Loki's new hat. I love pissing him off.

Since this is the last day of 2007 I guess it's time for my yearly recap.

Just cause I wanna get the sad stuff over first, on December 1st I had to take Isis, the Kitty Princess of Doom in to be put to sleep. She was just old, older than Carlos and I could have ever realized I guess. Her health was just getting worse instead of better and I couldn't see her suffer any longer. I've never had to do anything like that, and to say it was very hard wouldn't be doing the experience any justice. So anyway, I decided to put up the last photo I took of The Izz. I had just given her a bath and she decided that she had had enough of sunning herself on the balcony, and wanted to come back in. She was my little princess and will be greatly missed.

Back in November, I was lucky enough to go not only home for Thanksgiving for the first time in about 8 years, but one of my close childhood chums planned her wedding to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday!! Now because I haven't taken enough photo's with my digital camera yet to figure out how to work it right, her wedding pics didn't turn out too great. This pic doen't really caputre how beautiful she looked, but I was so happy to be there and meet her husband and see some of my former teachers and classmates. I just hope that their trip to India for the second ceremony went as wonderully as the ceremony in Seattle did. :)

The rest are just random pics of our Thanksgiving trip; our small, quiet Christmas at home; Carlos' first trip EVER to a pumpkin patch and his first Jack o' Lantern. :D

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

As usual, things are busy, busy, busy, so I've had to reach into the good ol work grab bag for a holiday themed goodie.

Happy Holidays everyone, and happy New Year as well!