http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:mysterycycle&section=today deviantART RSS for by:mysterycycle en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:17:24 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/26843948/ http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/26843948/ Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:14:47 PDT
On the plus side, I've had more reason to familiarize myself with my Wacom tablet. My art desk is in storage, and getting out the Bristol board and eraser is a bit messier a proposition right now. It's much easier for me to sit here in this comfy chair with my laptop on a TV-tray and my Wacom tablet in my lap.

I've been working on making a habit of drawing every day, even if it's just a bit of doodling. I want to become more proficient with my tablet, and I would like to pick up a few more tricks in Photoshop.

So expect to see a bit more work funneling through here, but at the same time, be warned: not everything I post here will be something I've given my all to. The point is to keep drawing as a lasting daily habit.

]]> ~mysterycycle http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/23779607/ http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/23779607/ Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:42:29 PDT
Besides, my parents are offering to pay for us to go on vacation with them in the Grand Canyon that same weekend. Which would I regret missing more, an overcrowded sensory overload or time with my family in a beautiful natural locale?

Instead, my beloved and I are considering trying out the Alternative Press Expo. I've never been, though I've always been curious about it. I've had a friend or two whom I respect go to show his stuff there, so it's always been on my to-do list. Since my wife and I spent our honeymoon in San Francisco, this would also be a nice opportunity for us to try a do-over (I got sick during our first visit).

Speaking of getting sick, my wife and I just recovered from having El Influenza. That knocked me out for a week, which was more of a problem for her than for me, since I'm currently unemployed. Still, I don't recommend it.

]]> ~mysterycycle http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/23238660/ http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/23238660/ Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:50:40 PST
I've been putting together some pieces oriented more toward character and concept design, with some emphasis on digital coloring. I'm becoming much more comfortable with Photoshop for that purpose, but there are still a lot of tricks and shortcuts out there that I'd like to pick up. Like anything else, though, it's practice, practice, practice.

]]> ~mysterycycle http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/21104286/ http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/21104286/ Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:26:34 PDT
I'm trying to do more digital work, to make myself more comfortable with both Photoshop and with working on my Wacom tablet. I've been discovering some tricks and shortcuts that I think will come in handy for paying gigs.

San Diego Comic-Con didn't yield many results, but one positive thing I did get was a portfolio review from an editor at Dark Horse. He gave me some good criticisms and pointed me in the right direction to improve my work. He also encouraged me by telling me he thought I was *very* close to where I needed to be.

I would have preferred a job offer, obviously, but failing that, I probably couldn't have asked for much more.

Still, I envy my wife for being able to kick back and enjoy the convention. And I missed FallCon this year, for the obvious reason that I'm stuck in Los Angeles. I find myself increasingly missing Minneapolis.

]]> ~mysterycycle http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/18424227/ http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/18424227/ Tue, 20 May 2008 23:53:06 PDT
Actually, that's not entirely true. I'm not just waiting - I'm actively looking for work. Preferrably work in the comics field, but failing that, I'm also interested in storyboarding work. Or illustration, character design, and the like.

In other words, I'd like to make a paycheck. My grace period on paying back my massive student loans ends next month, so my wife and I both need the money to begin rolling in.

Employers: I'm hungry for work! And I don't want to go hungry!

]]> ~mysterycycle http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/16421104/ http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/16421104/ Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:09:29 PST
I've just started my final class at MCAD, an Independent Study course that I'll be completing through e-mail. Then, in June, I'll fly back out to Minneapolis to hang my senior show on campus and collect my Bachelor's Degree in Comic Art.

In the meantime, I'm available for employment. I'm really hoping to find something in professional comics, but I'm also investigating the possibilities of storyboarding. I don't know what's available given that the Writer's Strike is still going on, but we'll see...

]]> ~mysterycycle http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/15574135/ http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/15574135/ Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:08:28 PST
Anyway, I thought I'd share some of my latest work, which has been for an online Manga class. I haven't drawn manga-style since 1999 or 2000, so it's been a lot of fun and a little strange coming back to it after so long. But I'm enjoying it! I had to come up with a setting and a story premise; I had recently made a post on my gaming blog ([link]) about the setting I created using the old 1st Edition AD&D "Fiend Folio" as the primary monster book. The original concept was called "Black Smoke and Red Sands," positing that what Percival Lowell saw on Mars was true, and that the Martians used sorcery like we use technology. Magical portals opened on Earth, leading to Mars and to other planets in the Solar System (all dangerous but essentially habitable, in the Victorian planetary romance vein), and now the British Empire and others are colonizing these worlds. Sorcery - colloquially known as "The Martian Science," is now being studied and mastered by humans. But what happened to the ancient Martians?

I took this concept, took out the overtly D&D elements, and called it "Rust." I'm a big fan of single-word titles... I'll post the finished cover and manga page once I complete them for class.

]]> ~mysterycycle http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/14767547/ http://mysterycycle.deviantart.com/journal/14767547/ Mon, 24 Sep 2007 04:44:10 PDT
Here's the [link]

I've got four more installments to complete this week, so there will be some more material coming. My hope is that I can continue the strip beyond that, but it'll depend entirely upon my workload. This is my last semester at art school, so I know I've got a ton of work ahead of me.

But I like the concept enough that I'll try to continue the strip after I finish school. Who knows?

]]> ~mysterycycle