http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:nomadikk&section=today deviantART RSS for by:nomadikk en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:31:15 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/28828845/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/28828845/ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:48:23 PST
Edgar Rice Burroughs is known for Tarzan, but some people haven't the slightest clue about his Barsoom (Mars) Series. John Carter, a Civil War soldier, is magically transported to Mars, and in that moment modern science fiction was germinated.

The stories are simple and fun, childhood classics in my opinion. Fortunately for me, Edgar Rice Burroughs had some trouble with copyrights in the beginning of his career. Several of his books, including the first five books in his Barsoom series are in the public domain.
I'm contemplating printing some books of the Princess of Mars via Lulu. The first book is only about 150 pages or so, not a big book by today's diarrhea of the keyboard novels. Of course, with this project, I'll paint a cover, as well as do 5 to 10 illustrations. I played around with the calculations on lulu, it seems very feasible.

After coming up with this idea, I also had the immediate fear of such a task. No, not the book layout, which I had to do countless times in college for graphic design. What strikes fear into me is the fact that the previous artists who have painted covers for Princess of Mars includes Frank Frazetta and Michael Whelan, the legendary kings of scifi/fantasy art. Those are big shoes to fill, but all I can do is my best, hoping people enjoy what I am able to do.

Also, Solar Flares pages will be up soon. Tomorrow is my Biology final, and all my extra efforts can be directed towards art again. Thank God for Christmas break

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/28715398/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/28715398/ Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:44:25 PST
Alright, back to studying for tomorrow's exam...

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/28049953/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/28049953/ Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:55:53 PDT
On a side note, I started scripting Volume 1 of Solar Flares: Outside Earth and Upside Down. This will be my first full length graphic novel, consisting of three 24 page chapters and maybe some "extras" in the back like early concept art and 24hr comic adventures. Stay tuned for things in that nature!

Sorry there hasn't been much art, I've been too busy with Biology. Blame my Biology teacher.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27994947/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27994947/ Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:14:50 PDT
http://ordinary-imaginary.blogspot.com/

Ordinary Imaginary
Now accepting submissions for ORDINARY IMAGINARY.

This new anthology will feature comics and illustrations on a very simple and universal idea--something (extra)ordinary clashing with the mundane. This challenge is about facing your fears, both in the theme of the stories/illustrations, and the execution there of. The theme is broad for a reason-- I'd like to encourage artists to do a story that they can explore however they'd like to, and to create the work using methods they may not have tried before.
If you're a digital artist, try inking with a brush (or vice versa).
Try doing an entire comic without using any dialogue.
Maybe you want to do a story about confronting your fears in an unusual way. Awesome. Maybe your story is about running into a mythical figure while running errands. Exciting! Have fun with this and let your imaginations (literally) run wild.

Of course, there are some guidelines for submissions--

Comic and Illustration Dimensions: Submissions lengths must be between one to 15 pages, black and white, or greyscale. All pages will be printed at 5.5″ x 8.5″ including an eighth inch gutter on all sides. Therefore all art must not exceed the printable dimensions of 5.25″ x 8.25″. Illustrators, you are free to do a two-page splash image, but please account for the bleeds.
How to Submit: We will take submissions both digital and physical. If you choose to send your submissions digitally please format them at 600 dpi. Please save images as JPG or PSD file formats. Attach the files, along with how you would like to be credited, to extraordinary.imaginary@gmail.com.
Prior to submitting to this anthology, please contact me with a rough estimate of your page count, so we can take into account the approximate size of the book and make a contingency for printing options.
Deadline: I'd like to give everyone plenty of time for this, so the deadline is May 1st 2010. The goal is to debut at HeroesCon. I encourage everyone to continually ask for feedback and critiques on their progress as they're working. I want high quality, professional art, and this should be something you'd be proud to show to editors. I also can't promise that everyone that submits will be included in the anthology. Submissions will be chosen by a group of professional, impartial judges.
Availability: This is going to depend on printing costs. If we go with something like LuLu, each contributor will be able to buy however many copies of the anthology they'd like from there at cost, then sell them at whatever price at conventions or local comic shops. I'll be pricing out other printers though.
Compensation: Each participant will receive one free copy of the anthology. I wish I was made of money and could pay you all and guarantee this will sell like HOT CAKES and we will all make thousands of dollars, however... well, I guess just keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best. If nothing else, you will hopefully have something amazing to have in your portfolio and show to editors


SPREAD THE WORD ALL OVER~

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27773211/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27773211/ Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:35:05 PDT http://www.francescofrancavilla.com/

I found him through my love of Zorro. At first when I picked up the comic, I was wishy washy with the comic. The inking style looked a little soft, and the story wasn't designed for single issues. I returned again, once Dynamite Entertainment released the first trade to Zorro. Story is great, artist is a match made in heaven. My only qualm is the generous amount of spelling errors in their usage of Spanish (or should I say Spanglish) through the comic.

So, I visited Francesco Francavilla's website, and I am floored. This artist is after my own heart. He has a huge love for old horror movies and pulp crime fighters!! He also makes title cards for episodes of old radio shows, and gives a link to the mp3 in his blog. These title cards are beautifully done. I wish I thought of it! The main radio show he draws for is The Shadow, but he also has a few others, in particular Green Hornet.

Besides doing art for my favorite heroes like Zorro, Shadow, and Green Hornet, he also has his own creation, The Black Beetle. It looks really well done, I sent an email in hopes of buying one of his one shot ash can comics. I also ordered his sketchbook, also available on his website.

So, now on to this man's artwork. I'll post a few favorites, I hope he doesn't mind:


I love the way he makes collage pages like this







Some radio show episode art. Its so nicely done, I also like the dimensions of the piece, a long narrow canvas must make for a unique design.


Nice splash page of Zorro. I specifically like his limited palette, it gives it a nice touch!


Just an all around eye catching page!


I like the design in the panel layout, great way to introduce a character and his abilities!


I love how he's using a "binocular" style field of view to tell us the character is looking down at the scene of the building, but the panels of the field of vision create an entire image. When this technique is done well, it always amazes me.


More cool collage pages. I'm definitely taking notes!


Classic!


I love the detail on that old Zenith radio!


The Shadow is just awesome. A classic Shadow over the city.

Well, I could add about a hundred samples of Francavilla's work, but I'd rather not. Anyway, I'm taking a few notes, so Francesco, thanks for the lessons!

Also, on his blog, he has some old stuff of his from 1994. Its really great to see someone that you admire, and be able to see how they have grown and how they started. It makes me feel that I can grow and achieve more with my work.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27731454/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27731454/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:31:34 PDT http://www.justmadbooks.com/.

I am stunned, I love his art. I am so fed up and jealous of people like him. His art is so eye catching and neat, but its also quite simple. I love it, and maybe you will too.

Anyone know if he's on deviantArt?

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27674316/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27674316/ Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:38:44 PDT
this sucks, I can't really afford not to work, or miss classes. I'm going back to bed.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27550115/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27550115/ Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:39:01 PDT I'm packing up my goods tonight. Not only do I need my art supplies and paper, but also references, mp3 player, movies, and also lots of food. It will be fun.

BTW, random story: I went to the store to buy some Jarritos and some freshly made churros. While driving home, a highschool idiot runs out into the middle of the road and I step on the brakes. Jarritos go flying, shatter, and ruin my churros in the process. Next time I'm just running over the kid, we need less idiots and more churros in this world.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27155630/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/27155630/ Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:45:16 PDT
We'll be drawing free sketches for kids between 4-6 and taking sketch commissions for others. There should also be a variety of prints and original artwork for sale as well. If you're a Spokane local, swing by and say Hi, meet the Guild and pick up some art!

In addition to the Guild, Merlyns will also be host to local members of the 501st Legion from 2-4pm. Get photos of yourself with stormtroopers and more of the Galactic Empire's finest!

The Street Fair will also feature live music, entertainment, sustainability info, kids activities, bike tune-ups, food and fun! In the street - 0 block of West Main, 3-8pm.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/26840341/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/26840341/ Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:09:03 PDT
]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/26518558/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/26518558/ Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:16:44 PDT
]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/26234342/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/26234342/ Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:40:08 PDT

I have a fairy tale that maybe I'd like to illustrate, its very hard to draw several different looking wizards. I think I may have to dress them in different cultural clothing, maybe make one rotund, another spindly thin, etc.


A robot. I don't like the hand, but the rest is okay. I'm not big on drawing robots, mainly because I'm not good at coming up with gears and mechanism stuff to get it to look robotic.

I'm thinking of drawing a whole bunch during the week, then on the weekend scanning a once a week post with all the daily sketches for the week. It might be easier for me to do than just drawing, scanning, updating the blog, etc. I also don't think my daily sketch crap is worth uploading as an official deviation on deviantart. They aren't complete and refined works, so you'll have to check the blog for most of my sketch doodles.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25586317/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25586317/ Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:02:15 PDT [link]

Scans and prints up to 11x17, and it has seperate cartridges for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. $219 on Newegg! My friend just bought it, its pretty slick. I'm thinking about getting it, I've been needing a large format scanner.



]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25557606/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25557606/ Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:26:40 PDT
I think its a little more dynamic, and it draws the eye a bit.


I'm not sure if I should have the elbow and shoulder stick out. Is it distracting?

I'm also playing around with Manga Studio's speed lines, focus lines, and computones. I do like my gray tones, just not sure how much I like the manga effects yet.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25504445/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25504445/ Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:28:29 PDT

I really like that hand coming out, but I didn't feel it was dynamic enough, so I did this one in this morning:


I really love everyone's comments, its really helping me with this project. If you have any more ideas, thoughts, criticism, let me know!

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25472173/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25472173/ Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:22:48 PDT


This is my rough, but I don't really dig the top panel because its such a contrast to the characters. I need to animate the city a little more to give it a feeling that matches these guys. Back to the drawing board.

Any suggestions for drawing alleys, cities, etc?


BTW, I finished watching Enter The Dragon last night. Its so classic! I haven't seen it in years, eventually bought it for $6.00 on sale.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25425969/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25425969/ Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:25:42 PDT
Here's the logo:

Streets of Blood. I think that totally echoes '80s - '90s action flicks, particularly bad martial arts movies and Van Damme stuff.

My idea is to have health bars at the bottom of each page, similar to the bottom of the screen in a beat-em-up and fighter. I want to have stuff like picking up garbage cans to look for items such as weapons or random food for health. Mainly though, I don't want to put much thought into it, just thinking maybe a couple pages ahead and drawing for the fun of it, kind of a sequential art exercise.

So, I figured out the first page, its a top shot of an alley (I'm using the photo below as reference), and two close ups of the fighters doing classic fighter poses:


Now I'm running into the problem that I've never really choreographed a fight before. I think I'll have to pop in some Van Damme movies, and look at some Street Fighter comics or something for inspiration.

I'll start drawing tomorrow after work, right now its time for bed.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25311466/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25311466/ Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:54:19 PDT http://www.jesseacosta.net/aztec
It was a rush design job, which is why it isn't super fancy at all. But I think it works well enough for delivery purposes.

All I have left now is a final exam for the class, and an impromptu speech in my Communications class. I can see the light, and I'm almost there. I can't wait to get back to my art and projects without having homework and other things piling up on me.

As a side note, I'll be on the radio tomorrow (Monday June 16th) at 10:00am on 92.3fm. I did a project for my Communications course on Immigration, and during the project I had to contact several people to interview. One of these people happened to be Olgalucia, the host of Latitud, the only Spanish speaking radio program in Spokane, WA. Well, she wants me to present what I found out on the air. I'm pretty scared, but excited at the same time.
I'm also planning on doing some flyers, web design, and some other stuff for her program as well as a few other radio programs on KYRS 92.3fm. I'm trying to pick up some volunteer work so I have some interesting stuff to write about when I apply for Eastern Washington University. I only have a couple quarters left at the Falls, and I can transfer over.

Alright, so I'm going to kick back for a few. It feels good to finally finish my exhibit project.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25165471/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25165471/ Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:00:39 PDT
Last note, I just received a set of 12 cool grays from Prismacolor, and the flesh tone set from Prismacolor. I'm very excited to use these. Also, with the shipment from dickblick.com, they sent a catalog. To my surprise, Blick Studios has a marker line of their own, supposedly comparable to Prismacolors. The most intriguing part is that they are much cheaper! I've been doing some research, most people have given them near comparable ratings. I'll keep poking around, trying to find out some more info on these markers. I'm pretty sure I'll lay down the money and buy the 96 color set in a month or so.

Time to get back to homework.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25051097/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25051097/ Sun, 31 May 2009 12:40:19 PDT
I was really amazed that people wanted my prints and wanted sketches. One girl came by three times for a Robin print, a Beast Boy sketch (check the photo in my recent uploads), and a Raven sketch. People really dug the Teen Titans stuff. Next year I'll have prints of all the Titans, and maybe some other characters as well.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25026119/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/25026119/ Sat, 30 May 2009 02:19:57 PDT
Come by and say hi!!!

For more info: http://www.spokanecomicon.com/

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/24848732/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/24848732/ Tue, 19 May 2009 22:50:34 PDT
But here's the tricky part, what are some of the most beloved characters that I should put on the card?

If you have the time, give me a top ten of your favorite all time characters. With a decent list, I have a direction for character choices.

Thanks!

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/24752642/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/24752642/ Thu, 14 May 2009 11:52:34 PDT


I'm expecting to have a lot of extras, I know I'll be handing them out to friends and family, as well as selling extras here and there. I'll also have Solar Flares 24Hour comic available as well, both in Spanish and English.

I'm planning on having a couple portfolios of my art on display, some 6"x6" sketches on display to entice people to buy $5.00 small sketches. I'm also thinking of doing a $5.00 deal for a book and a sketch inside the book. I'll also have a mini easel on the table displaying some smaller paintings, and a big easel behind displaying my big pieces. I'll be rotating pieces throughout the day.

I'm also going to sift through my work to see if there are any pages worth making prints of.

I hope to see lots of people, stop by and say hi!

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/24571625/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/24571625/ Sun, 03 May 2009 18:02:59 PDT
I made a list of all that I drew for the event,

Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Master Chief, Yoda, Bobba Fett, Clone Trooper, Mario, Wolverine, Flash, and Harley Quinn. I may have been missing one or two from this list, we all did a couple repeat characters. Master Chief, Bobba(or Janga) Fett, and Yoda were real popular. The guys in suits look a lot alike as well, its was getting tedious. At one point I couldnt remember who I was drawing for a minute! It was a clone trooper, I had to look at the helmet!

My favorite one was probably Mario because the girl was interested in my art supplies, its really cool that others are interested in drawing too. I also drew Mario from memory, which was scary! I know what he looks like, but it would have been nice for a reference just in case.

Here are some of the other fellow artists who made FCBD at Merlyns a success with free kids sketches:


]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/24044206/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/24044206/ Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:41:11 PDT

and here it is today:


I just printed it(non photo blue) onto bristol board, and I'll be inking within the next couple days. Any thoughts before I hit it with the inks?

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/24032636/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/24032636/ Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:38:01 PDT


Robin will be colored, and Russo's colors on the bottom right panel will be faded a bit to blue like the above panel when I'm done. Just having some fun, I'd like to print this out and have it in my portfolio at the convention. If anything, just to have a collab project that's colored.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/23960774/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/23960774/ Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:20:05 PDT I've been working on my Little Red Riding Hood comic, and I'm working on a splash page in the middle of the comic.



I think I like everything so far, except for the tree. I want it too look beefy, knotted, interesting. I'm having a heck of a time portraying this.

The comic will be black and white, but I'll be using gray tones, some basic cell style shading.

So, please, all my friends, give me your thoughts on the tree. Hell, I'd love it if you opened it in Photoshop, and played around with drawing your own interpretation of the tree for examples.

Anyway, I'm about to crash.

Thanks all.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/23483927/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/23483927/ Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:53:23 PST Beside the school and work rinse and repeat daily grind, I'm also putting myself to a schedule to get things completed and ready for the upcoming Spokane Comic Convention. I guess they were booking like mad this week, glad I decided to lay down my money for a table finally. But that also means no more lolly gagging...
I'm planning on doing a handful of speed paintings, maybe five, for the convention. I'm planning on doing one a week, spending one of my days off each week working on them. I'm also going to try to return to the (semi, kind of, not really) Daily Sketches. I want to do this, so I have more work to pick and choose from when I put together a small inexpensive sketchbook to peddle at the convention. I will have paintings, Solar Flares 24 Hour comic, a sketchbook, and Little Red Riding Hood comic for sale and ready for the convention.

To kick off the Daily Sketch, I did this last night:


I'm thinking that I will do a portrait of each of the Teen Titans from the tv series for paintings at the convention. I saw a few people dressed as Raven and Robin, so I think there is a decent fan base here.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/23182099/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/23182099/ Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:57:40 PST
So today I came across an obscure comic while browsing. Its called Magnus Robot Fighter 4000ad, printed by Gold Key Comics. First thing that drew me was the painted covers, very pulp magazine like on the cover. Second, its a Flash Gordon type guy beating up robots! I love it! I have an affinity for '50s era robots too, so this is my thing. Now I have a an urge to find as many of these as possible, Magnus is amazing! I'll definitely be looking out for other issues or collections at comic cons, etc.

If I had the opportunity to get the rights, I so totally would. I just get so giddy with golden age heroes, pulp heroes, and the like. There's a sort of awesome charm to them that is hard to find in today's comics. Is it the art style? The stories? The smell of the old comics? A time I long for yet never experienced? I don't know what draws me to this stuff so much, but it definitely gets me excited to draw something. It also gave me some ideas for a future Solar Flares comic. Perhaps Francisco needs to battle robots at some point!



]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/23098456/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/23098456/ Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:56:35 PST
I think I could use my journal entries here to be of more use to people, so I think I'll start doing occasional reviews of the things in my life, namely art related goodies.

So on Friday I went to the Comic Shop to pick up my latest books, plus see if they had received shipment of the new Scott Pilgrim book. They had one copy, it was destiny for me to purchase it!

One of my favorite things about reading comics is finding a relatively new artist, and watch them grow. I believe that #5 is the strongest of Lee's visual storytelling. His line quality gets stronger and cleaner, his panel layouts more interesting, and his toning becomes more dynamic. One sequence in particular really impressed me. There's a moment where Scott and Ramona have a heart to heart, and she starts to disappear into a white flash. It looked really nice, I think it would be fun to play and try to replicate the effect.
One of the things that threw me off in previous books was the similarity in character's looks. One is supposed to happen, Young Neil is supposed to look a lot like Scott. Unfortunately, that can make it difficult for the reader. Second, Ramona changes her hair quite a bit, also making it difficult to follow. Sometimes I also think Ramona and Kim look quite alike as well. This is very difficult for a black and white comic, if it were color, we could notice the changes more dramatically with the different color hair and such. Again though, by volume 5, O'Malley has made these characters much more distinct and easier to differentiate.

As for the story, its kind of sad in this one. It was told well, I loved the art, and it was a fun easy read; but man was it a sad story. I guess I can't say sad = bad, but I guess I've liked the care free happy-go-lucky attitude the book carried previously. This change of pace is good though, I'm hooked, maybe more than ever now, to see what happens in the next volume.

If you have not read the series, please check it out:
http://www.radiomaru.com/ - Website for Artist and Creator Bryan Lee O'Malley
http://www.scottpilgrim.com/ - Official Scott Pilgrim website
http://www.onipress.com/ - Oni Press, Publisher of Scott Pilgrim, and many other great comics

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22951933/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22951933/ Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:51:30 PST As for Hulk VS, its actually a two feature disc, with Hulk vs Wolverine (37min) and Hulk vs Thor (45min).

What I liked about the films were the quality of the animation, voice acting, and story. It was like picking up a one shot comic, and seeing it come to life on screen. The animation felt very clean and crisp, reminiscent of any high end anime, while still being a very American style form.
What I didn't like was the brevity of the films, but that almost could be a bonus in of itself. After watching each, I wanted more, and enjoyed all of it. That says a lot on its own.

Of the other Marvel animated films, I'd definitely have to rank Dr Strange and Ultimate Avengers as my other favorites. As for DC, I really enjoyed New Frontier, Batman: Gotham Knight was also unique, and I'm also excited to see Wonder Woman. Both companies have done really remarkable jobs with these direct to dvd films.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22811719/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22811719/ Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:50:18 PST
First off, I'm a big fan of pulp era stuff, these classic characters (or faux classic) eminate legendary stories of adventure. Secondly, I like human heroes. I feel connected to the hero more. Its possibly (but not probable), that given the right circumstances, I could be any of those characters.
Some of these favorite characters come from my dad as well. As a kid, I'd love to watch his favorite childhood movies like Zorro and Sinbad. I sort of adopted that pulp story era, radio show culture into my own set of interests. The noir feeling, the look of the era, the deco design, the gangsters, jazz, the clothes.

I think many of us long for that early 20th century era, where life looked so much more interesting, with more classic morals, things could be judged simply as black and white, not tangled up in shades of gray.

Just rambling though.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22692386/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22692386/ Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:49:36 PST Yeah, so after eating my sandwich, I decided it was the right thing to inform the kitchen manager. I asked for the manager, and told him of the situation. He went ahead and checked the sales records on the computer in the back... I don't know the outcome of the situation, but I felt really conflicted because of it.

On one hand, I really dislike theft. Honesty is a big virtue in my book. It really bothers me to see my cash that is meant to pay for the food, as well as pay for my college experience, end up in the pocket of a cashier. It disgusts me to no end.
But on the other hand, I really feel bad about putting the cashier's job, integrity, and college education in jeopardy. A lot is at stake here, but I have to keep telling myself that I essentially didn't put her in that situation; she did it on her own.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22672293/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22672293/ Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:48:09 PST
Rather than sitting at Office Depot for an hour, folding, stapling, and cutting 40 copies; I decided to purchase a long arm stapler so I can do this work at home. A long arm stapler is designed to staple brochures, booklets, and magazines since an unfolded magazine would be too long to staple with a standard stapler. They are pretty handy.

I have a small list of supplies I really would like to purchase right now:

Mustek 11x17 scanner:
I've already started working on some comic pages, but scanning in segments on a smaller scanner is a pain in the butt. The Canson Fanboy Manga Art Boards are 10" × 14.25", so the Mustek would be perfect for that.

Guillotine style Paper Trimmer:
I would really like to buy a nice paper cutter to cut any of the home made mini comics that I do. Sometimes when I use community paper trimmers(like at college or Office Depot), the blades are mistreated and dull, which causes a lot of problems as well.
Does anyone have one at home? Would they recommend theirs? I saw several at Office Depot, and I'm just not sure which would be the best. I want one sturdy and heavy duty, but I don't need the specialty stuff like laser rulers, etc.


I also wanted to bring up a process of inking that I have been doing, that others might find useful. Usually when I draw a comic page, I do a thumbnail for referencing, then draw the comic page at printed size(comics 6.625x10.25 manga 5x7.5). After that, I'll scan it into the computer and adjust it so the page is only Cyan at 50%. This way, I'm printing it as "non photo blue" onto the art board. After adjusting on the computer, I print it onto the Bristol Board, and finally start inking.
I've read several interviews where artists work this process, and even my friend uses this when he inks. The advantages to this are pretty obvious I think. To begin with, the penciller can keep his original pencils and the inker can keep his original inked pages. Secondly, the inker does not have to worry about screwing up the original pencilled pages.
The process may seem a little busy, but for me it helps tremendously. Sometimes while pencilling, I can thrash a piece of paper with repeat pencilling and erasing. Each step I work is on a new clean sheet.

I've been ranting for a bit, so I better get ready for work.

Happy Martin Luther King Day

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22461362/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22461362/ Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:32:15 PST

One of my major issues was dealing with that hood... I finally decided to go with a more Link like Cap instead, mainly because the original is called: Le Petit Chaperon Rouge (o en Español, Caperucita Roja) meaning Little Red Cap... Previously with a hood design, it was difficult to attach the hood to the cloak, while still showing her hair and face.

So I'll do a model sheet, showing her at several angles, and moving in certain actions to get her design down. Then I think its time to move onto Abuelita, El Cazador, y El Lobo... I'm very excited for this project!

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22434993/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22434993/ Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:14:08 PST My second class is Ethnic and Racial Sociology. The topics we are already talking about are pretty interesting, and the instructor seems very knowledgeable. She was born and raised in China, and has a PhD. In class she asked a few students about their racial background and what it means to them, of course she had to pick me. I hate talking in front of strangers, I get pretty nervous; then to talk about myself is even worse!

So today I bought my parking pass, my film book, school supplies, paid off my JC Penny card, and several other errands... all during this nasty weather we are having. I did a lot of errands today and started school, I feel like a weight has been lifted now.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22401030/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22401030/ Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:24:56 PST
]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22334981/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22334981/ Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:43:02 PST
Here's the newest attempt:


I shrunk her head down because it looked too big and manga like the previous time. But now it looks too big and her shoulders too wide. I'm also having such a hard time drawing girl hair. I guess I've just never had to pay much attention to pig tails and bows, and all that frilly stuff.

Besides Little Red, I was sick for a couple days. I had a stomach flu, and couldn't do much but watch tv. There was a House marathon, so I watched that. I really enjoy funny asshole characters like House. I don't generally watch the show, or many shows though, because I don't like to get caught up in it and have to watch it weekly. But since I was sick, I just kicked back. After 20 episodes, I noticed medical shows really bite for tv, and how can anyone watch them for very long? Every episode is the same situation: patient in extreme situation comes in, banters with doctors, doctors have inter-work relationships and fight with themselves, patient almost dies, they misdiagnose (generally Ive noticed on House, they think everyone has MS), then they try a surgery for the patient to almost die again, and then they solve it.

I also watched Magnificent Seven again. I think Magnificent Seven and Seven Samurai are the best movies to look at for dealing with a story with multiple main heroes. That movie is so perfect, you could take it to any setting and retell a great story. You could replace Yule Brynner with Aragorn, Steve McQueen with a fast arrow shooting elf, and other characters with various fantasy characters and it would be a great fantasy movie.

Anyway, its a brand new year which is very exciting. There's a lot of stuff happening this year, so I'm pretty happy for that. School starts on the 5th, so I'm going to have to learn how to balance school in the early morning and working in the afternoon and everything else in the evening. It will be a challenging quarter, but I'm glad to be getting more credits out of the way.. I feel like I'm digging myself out of a ditch, I should be able to go to Eastern by next Fall or Winter if I keep up the pace.

Anyway, everyone have a Happy New Year.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22262781/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22262781/ Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:42:29 PST

I like that its cleaner and much more streamlined, but I don't like the face at all, and the hair isnt what I envisioned at all... It seems the more manga direction I go, the more I lose what I was aiming for.

Now she has become too tall, I wanted her to be very young and short, kind of like Lilo from Lilo and Stitch. I want to give her an ethnic appearance, but with the pigtails, it looked more Native American:


So in the end, I'm still stuck at the drawing board.

On a less exciting note, I've been sick with the stomach flu for a couple days.. I'm just getting over it now. Its not fun. Also, after the snow started to be manageable again, it dumped hard on our city again. I got up early with plans to see The Spirit at noon, but after seeing the winter chaos outside, I stayed indoors.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22233580/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22233580/ Sat, 27 Dec 2008 21:02:02 PST


I'm having trouble with the face and hair... Children are difficult to draw.



*update*
I drew a face, and I like it. But I still don't like the hair quite yet...

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22110873/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22110873/ Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:55:29 PST I'm thinking of doing a short comic of Little Red Riding Hood, maybe four pages or something... Here's some rough illustrations so far:






Its been a while since I've posted any new art, so this is a nice jumpstart.


A second design. I may have to find a happy middle between the two. My idea behind this is a more of a Legend of Zelda: Link To The Past sort of feel in the style of art. Link was sorta squat like Little Red here.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22047902/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/22047902/ Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:36:35 PST
]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21734661/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21734661/ Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:39:55 PST
I just can't understand people who deliberately ruin their lungs, being able to not breathe is a nightmare. It's like wearing a plastic bag on your head some days.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21468159/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21468159/ Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:39:06 PST I should buy a couple old lunch boxes and repaint them! So I started the hunt today at the Christian Thrift store by my home. I did not see any lunch boxes unfortunately, but I did find something! Super Mario All Stars for Super Nintendo! The game generally goes for $20.00 on Ebay, and I picked it up for $3.00. I was pretty stoked, this has four Super Mario games on one cartridge.
Looking around the thrift shop made me think about how easily we toss things out, and buy new junk, just to toss that out as well. There were many nice and functional things there. I saw a French Press for $3.00! It looked brand new, and those generally go for $20.00 at Target or other stores. I may go back and pick it up for a friend. They had many bags as well. I'm thinking of going on a trip this summer or spring, I'll definitely be heading to a thrift store for a bag to pack my stuff, why pay $50.00+ for something new in a chain store, when I can spend a quarter of that in a charity based store.

I think a lot about how much I spend, and how in the past I burned through cash on ridiculous things. Nowadays, I buy my books either used, marked down, or with a coupon from Borders. I buy my graphic novels either used from The Comic Shop, or I buy several at a time through instocktrades.com, which has free shipping on $50.00+ purchases, no tax, and generally a markdown of 30%. I rarely eat at fast food these days, preferring to buy from the grocery store and spend a couple extra minutes to prepare something.

I'm sure others are feeling the effects of our current economy, the dollar really doesn't go as far as we'd like these days. I'm not trying to be preachy or anything, I'm just trying to share the ways I am being frugal.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21328736/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21328736/ Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:05:23 PST Category: Art and Photography

So last week I mailed out a bunch of copies of my 24 hour comic (printed, folded, stapled, cropped, it looks nice all together) to a bunch of mini comic/zine distros, people into mini comics, and I even sent it to the Isotope Mini Comics Annual Competition. I actually found out about this competition a couple days late for the event, but I decided to send it in anyway, just to see what they thought. Here's the email:


Jesse,

I just received and gave a read on your SOLAR FLARES book. It's a nice looking book thanks for sending it!

This year's Isotope Award competition was pretty fierce, I saw more amazing books from first-time comic creators than ever before, and I think Jonas Madden-Connor's OCHRE ELLIPSE (our 2008 winner) is definitely something really special. You can check out more about his work here:

[link]
[link]

We give out this award annually, I'm proud to say that the attention has helped get each of our five previous years winners picked up by pretty major indy publishers. We definitely do everything we can to make this award more than just a nifty trophy, I always consider my
winner a little like Ms America, and make sure every reviewer, news source, and publisher I know of gets their hands on a copy and gets a chance to talk to the winner if they want to. It definitely makes me happy to see both Joshua Cotter (2004 winner) and Danica Novgorodoff
(2006 winner) have gone on to get Eisner nominations for their next projects. So yeah, pretty cool!

But I digress. Here's really what I'm writing you to say:

1. You've got a pretty sharp looking book despite cranking it out in just 24 hours. Very impressive!

2. If you put some time into your submission for next year (and submit the book on time - laugh!) I wouldn't be surprised to see you ending up as a finalist.

3. And seriously... keep up the excellent work, man!

- James
[link]


Yeah, so I am pretty excited about this!!!

Oh yeah, and one last note. A friend of mine, Brian, ended up reading my comic to his son for a bedtime story. That's pretty awesome!

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21239843/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21239843/ Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:26:31 PDT [link]

This sounds like an interesting game. Several artists get together, and make a comic, each doing one panel and passing it to the next guy. No previous story or plot, its all by the seat of the pants. Each page is broken down into three tiers of long panels.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21200994/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21200994/ Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:07:40 PDT
I was actually hoping I would have time to draw something for a cover, but never got around to it in the 24hr time span. I was too busy drawing the pages, and only got to 12. So it lies blank...


That's a weird ship I made in Adobe Illustrator in about 1 minute...


I was really trying to work with angles, closeups, perspective, and other such things to give a feel that the reader was in the comic.


During the span of drawing this page, and moving to the next, I forgot that I wanted to have more dialogue to explain why Francisco can understand alien languages. So, I have this rushed chat between the alien and Francisco, then it gets into the meat of the story.


I call the bottom panel the "Frankenstein Shot"


Oh God those top two panels are ugly. I was planning on redrawing them and replacing them later, but in the spirit of 24hr cbd, I left as is. I find it hilarious that it looks like the alien is actually tipping over on purpose, trying to spill the water in his helmet.
The stars here were fun to do. Levi showed me a trick with flicking whiteout on a bad nib against a ruler. I even touched a little corner and smudged it on accident, but it still looks great. If you notice, in space, the radiation must make you lose a left finger.. Why does he only have four fingers on that hand? It was so late.


I really suck at drawing space ships. I wanted a more 50s retro ship, but I couldn't really think on the spot. So we have an alien boomerang ship.


Japanese tsunami print???


Everyone likes Francisco's pose. He's so gallant. I thought the alien's underwater pose was awesome, its so Matrix.


I actually wanted to drop in some halftone shading into the sky, but again in the spirit of 24hr cbd, I left it as is.



The top panel is so bare. Why does this alien look like an elvish Vin Diesel? Also, this must be a British planet, he's clearly driving on the right. I actually drew the driver on the wrong side on the top panel, and then decided to go with it on the bottom panel.


I should have filled the backgrounds on a couple panels black, just for some contrast.


The alien base is supposed to be some round building, it looks weird though.


I wanted to give his space alien doppleganger a sash, just like in the Mirror Universe version of Star Trek. His mustache is so rad.





]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21164341/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/21164341/ Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:59:20 PDT
So, my tedious task is to now manually go through each page and insert my ~ and ' over characters, and flip my ? and !... Its a major pain in the butt.

Has anyone else gone through any similar issues? Any better solutions?

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20713794/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20713794/ Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:03:34 PDT

Its drawn on 6.625"x10.25", so its actual comic size. I used a Pentel Brush Pen to do this whole thing. I'm really trying to learn how to ink and utilize more black areas. I'll be getting back to The Joker soon, its just such a pain to setup and photograph each step. With illustration, I can just start drawing on paper anywhere at anytime without having to setup to draw.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20628797/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20628797/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:17:59 PDT

On break at work I cleaned up the page, spotted some more black onto Robin's coat which I think really helped. Then I did my usual fun coloring out of boredom. Its nice to have colored pages in a sketchbook, its more striking, even if my coloring is pretty flat. It has been a while since I used colored pencils, I need to get into a rhythm before I start getting too creative.

Now a more imperative topic. School started today... Oh the horror. I could not fall asleep for the life of me last night. If something important is happening the next day, I can't sleep. Anyway, I woke up and got online to check out my online courses. Health and Astronomy. My Health class doesn't seem too bad, but my Astronomy seems to be a nightmare. I will have to be extra organized and assertive to accomplish my classes, art, and everything else I want to happen this quarter.
My Astronomy teacher wrote a novella worth of information. The syllabus, an intro letter, discussion questions, a lecture, this week's agenda. It was a lot. I just read through it and my eyes are bugging out. I had to write notes on just what he expects each week from me! Tomorrow I have to get up early to pick up my books, my financial aid check, and a parking pass just in case I need to do something on campus. I'm frightened by the amount of work this teacher is demanding. I am very interested in Astronomy, but I am hokey pokey about my pace. Maybe I need a fire under my ass to jump start my mindset back into a school sort of pace.

In other news, I totally forgot my Spanish Instructor's birthday party. We are good friends, and hang out a bit outside of classes. I have been so bogged down getting over being sick, kind of feeling in a rut, trying to get art ready for a few events, and mentally preparing/fearing school. My mind was elsewhere all weekend, I totally forgot it and I feel horrible. After I am done posting this entry, I will be drawing her a birthday card. It will be personal and it will mean a lot to her. I also packed up my guitar and a folding music stand. For her belated present, I am going to play a couple classical songs. I was also wanting to paint a sign for her class as a surprise. She just got a new office for her school, and needs to decorate. I am going to hand paint her Spanish class sign, I think she will like it. Unfortunately, do to time constraints, it won't be in her hands until probably next week.

Last bit of info. Last night, during my insomnia, I watched the very tail end of a PBS program. There is a black scientist guy I see all the time on tv. I've seen him on Conan O'brien talking about astronomy, he gets so excited about it. I've seen him interviewed on news networks, he's somehow some kind of big science geek. Anyway, he had some show on, and he was talking about the evolution of writing. I would have LOVED to watch the whole program, history is awesome, especially about things I am interested in. Anyway, he started talking about his crow quill pen (basically the same thing I use to ink, but I use steel nibs rather than an actual cut feather tip). He said that if he is going to write something important like an article or a speach, he uses a crow quill pen. Each time he dips for new ink, he gets about six or seven words before redipping. He states that this process gives the piece a cadence feel to his writing, he thinks a lot more, and there is a unique thoughtful flow that is lost in the 'now now now' technology of a keyboard.
I really think he stumbled onto something so true. Even when I use a brush to ink, I am so much more thoughtful with each stroke. It is so different, and has a more organic flow than any pen.

Okay, enough yammering. Time to draw a Birthday Card.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20610675/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20610675/ Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:18:28 PDT So, while watching La Bamba, I drew up this:


All using the pentel brush pen. I haven't erased pencil marks yet because its still too wet to brush an eraser over. Approximately 45 minutes all together. Another thing I am trying to do is loosen up and have fun, when I participate in the 24 hour comic day, I don't want to stall and just stare at a blank page. I did a lot of that last year. I notice if I start doing something, anything, it makes it easier to keep going.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20587580/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20587580/ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:28:53 PDT
I've been drawing a lot of Batman and Robin at work lately. Trying to not worry so much about being perfect, and just having fun. This is actually the first Batman I have drawn that I actually like.

If I ever worked for Marvel or DC, I'd love to do one of their kid's comics. Teen Titans or something. Anyway, I need to clean up and get painting again. I've been painting on Joker, but I haven't been able to photograph much.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20542336/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20542336/ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:01:54 PDT Hablé con el dueño de "The Missing Piece Tatto" y le gustaría llevar algunas de mis pinturas. Su taller tiene muchas pinturas, muchas de éstas vendidas. Me gustaría vender algunos de mi trabajos y posiblemente conseguir algún reconocimiento.
Este año venderé libros de dibujos, pinturas y dibujos de comisión en la Segunda Convencion Anual de cómics. Algunas de mis amistades han conseguido beneficiarse de ello y han hecho conecciones. Con mis nuevas pinturas, y un portafolio mas grande, me gustaría ver si puedo encontrar trabajo pintando portadas para compañías de cómics independientes. Oni Press y Blue Water Productions son bastante grandes y no lejos de Spokane.

Just practing my Spanish for a change.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20515490/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20515490/ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:31:50 PDT
I just realized I have been rusty at drawing since Ive been painting Joker for so long. So, to prepare for the 24 Hour Comic Day I will be participating in again, I am filling a sketch book with tons of fun gestures. I want to really make something cool this time.

I've been liking Damion Scott's art a lot, especially his work in Robin: To Kill A Bird. So to try to learn some techniques from him, I drew the same Robin he did as a cover in the back, but with a bit of my style to it. I like his animated feel to it, he's not worrying about rendering everything to infinity like Jim Lee.



]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20467028/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20467028/ Sat, 13 Sep 2008 06:57:33 PDT
]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20379280/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20379280/ Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:00:37 PDT
Okay, so now I'm going to introduce a new acrylic additive, a retarder:

This stuff is really nice, it thins the paint a bit, and it lets it sit longer before drying. This will be useful for wet on wet blending action.


This is where I left off last. I was fooling around with water and darker greyish blues to make shadows on the bottom of the strait jacket. I didn't like the outcome so much, so I went out and bought the retarder since I knew it would be easier for this effect.



Here's I've mixed my Payne's Grey (the darkest background color) with Azrilian Crimson to make a purple. I mixed about a dime size amount of the color, and added about four drops of the retarder to it and mixed it in. Then I painted the upper portion of the face with it. After that, I used some titanium white and the purple together to make a lavender middle tone:



This is where the excitement begins! I can now use that retarder to make my paint take longer to dry. I can have a wet dark purple, and a lavender, then blend them together on canvas using a swirl motion with the brush. I try to keep a lot of strokes in the look to give a real painterly look. I'm heavily influenced by the old pulp covers and movie posters of the 40s, they really had a cool painted look to them.


After a good transition of purples, I add on top of it a small amount of titanium white and retarder to get some bright white on the forehead, and cheek. This is really my favorite part of painting, its about building volume. I add dark colors, medium colors, then lighter colors, then I can darken it if need be, or brighten it more, until I am satisfied.


Here's the whole thing at the moment. Yes, Joker's face is very purple at the moment, but I'll be lightening it up a bit later on, after I get the face and everything else finished.
[link]

That's pretty much it for now. I'll probably be finishing the face, then going back to the strait jacket again. After that, I'll be working on the pants, then I'm going to have the pants fade back into the background by adding some more Payne's Grey and impasto. From there, it will be about tweaking little things and making minor adjustments.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20263666/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20263666/ Mon, 01 Sep 2008 02:10:16 PDT

I finally picked up a light, but I'm unsure if I like it yet. My lighting is still uneven, but its at least better than before. I'm about to put 5000watt daylight bulbs in the whole basement just to work properly. I'd imagine the police would be stopping by though, expecting a grow house. The den is pretty poor to work in though, its the worst lighting in the house, but its the only room with enough space to work in. Here's my new setup:


You can also see the easel I built.

So now, I've decided to start on his straight jacket. I used some naples yellow, neutral grey, and payne's grey to make a slightly yellowed greyish tone. I'll probably have to play with this color a bit before I'm sure I'll be satisfied with the color. I originally wanted an off-white / cream color for the straight jacket, but it was a little too bright when I tried it.


Oh yeah, I also was playing a bit and colored his mouth for the heck of it. Cadmium Deep Red with a little black for the tongue. The mouth is ivory black with some payne's grey.

So, that's it for today. I'll be working on the rest of his top, adding some highlights and shadows next. Not too much after that, his pants, his face, and a lot of finishing touches to round it all off.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20227083/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20227083/ Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:02:10 PDT

There is about four different variations of green for his hair, some lighter with olive green, burnt umber, hooker's green, and naples yellow. I just keep adding strands of hair, until its like this:


I may add more hair later on, depending on what I feel about the piece when its closer to completion.

That's about it today, sorry its so short. I need to stop at a store tomorrow to pick up a better lamp for painting. I had some people make several suggestions, I'll see what I can find.

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20211468/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20211468/ Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:28:23 PDT

Now I'm going to use a smaller brush, like one I might ink with. Whenever my brush strokes have to be smaller and more precise, I make sure my small brush is pretty damp feeling before dipping into the paint. I think it helps the bristles move and flow better when I make my strokes. I'm just starting by adding some locks of hair with a mix of Hooker's Green and Naples Yellow. I like using this in the mix for a lighter green instead of using titanium white because it looks a much more vibrant:


Now that my layer of light hair is done, I'm going to mix less yellow into my hooker green and make slightly different shaded locks. I'll make about three layers eventually with different shades of green to make up The Joker's wild hair:


That's about it for today. Its been pretty difficult for me to paint recently because the sun is setting sooner and I work late in the evening. I have a few lamps at the easel, but its not enough quality for me to work with. Regular bulbs give an ugly tone to most of my colors. I also have a day lamp which is good, but its a reading lamp, so I'm not getting enough light over my whole canvas. I just need to buy a good lamp for painting with, if you have one you use for painting, let me know!

]]> *nomadikk http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20176026/ http://nomadikk.deviantart.com/journal/20176026/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:24:52 PDT


I mixed my Payne's Gray with just a little zinc white, and prepared my brush for drybrushing. I painted around, and I especially painted around the Joker to give him a sort of haloed glow around him. After I highlighted with the drybrush, I mixed more zinc white to make a whiter light blue, and continued the process. I did this about three times to give a nice gradient of brightness.


This is the first drybrushing layer. You can see that there isn't too much of a difference between the original Payne's gray background and the lighter blue. I want each layer to be a subtle change.


This is about three or four coats of drybrushing, each getting brighter and brighter.



Now that I'm done, I peeled away the frisket of The Joker, leaving his silhouette. See how the frisket protected the Joker illustration below? Actually, if you look closely, you can see I had only one spot of bleeding, and that was a small spot on The Joker's nose, but I can paint over that just fine. Now its time to paint The Joker!

That's it for tonight, I hope someone out there is learning something from this tutorial!

]]> *nomadikk