oh god mustn't panic

More Sketchbook Project work.

This one I left un-levelled (Photoshoppers, you know what I mean!) to show the ink wash.

The last one is for my mom, who was there, and Lucy Knisley, who drew the inspiring (and sometimes depressing) French Milk, now one of my go-to travelogues.

I need to get this book in the mail by New Year, and I am less than half done. Another job I'm doing turned out to be much more challenging than I'd expected, too. It makes me depressed, but I might have better things to do with my time.

sketchbook project

Here are some things I've been doing for The Sketchbook Project. The theme is Dirigibles and Submersibles.

influence map

Taken from the Influence Map template by fox-orian on deviantart.

Thoughts I take away from this meme: I like redheads. I like archy-texture. (ow) And I wonder if I'll ever really leave the manga influence behind, or if I even want to.

CLAMP really pulls your eye in, doesn't it?

I tried to assemble these with some cohesion and more or less in chronological order. It came out in two columns, beginning with Nausicaa on the top left and ending with my very recent fashion obsession on the bottom right. It's my life in pictures. I didn't expect it to mean so much.

Also, I'm afraid you'll all think less of the Vincent picture now you've seen Anja's work. :(

an addict's withdrawal

Oh God, I want more booooooooooooks!!!

Very recently read Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan. Dear Lord, I want this book. In hardcover. In fact, can someone make a whole book of all of Keith Thompson's art for this series? I would buy that too. And I want to read Philip Reeve's Larklight and Starcross again. I haven't even read Mothstorm.

NaNoWriMo is making me want to read instead of write. I am about 3K words behind, although I made a good start. Anyone out there doing it this year?

In slightly related news and to make this post less boring, SIR Terry Pratchett's newly-granted coat of arms from the Royal College of Arms. (You have to scroll down a bit on that page.)

The motto is "noli timere messorem" - "Don't Fear the Reaper". I love the UK, don't you?

today I am thinking about Vincent

starry starry night...

Pentel watercolours, Quink ink, Safeway cleaner with bleach.

I am fascinated by the effect bleach spray has on Parker Quink ink. It's a chemical reaction taking place as you watch! And it's pretty, too.

somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly

wherever you go, is who you are

"There is a richness that soaks in when you stand somewhere beautiful, in a place you have never been before. I have known it and it made me the person I am today."

So I'm writing again. We'll see how it goes.

lady in the forest

Well, it started out as fashion illustration, and then it became something else.

Ritual

In other news, I have joined this. eek what have I done

QUEEN OF DORKS

Ok so I single-handedly won a sudden death round at Trivia Night tonight, getting ALLLLLLLLLLLLL the questions right!!!!! ANNNNND they had a Kids' Lit round so NATURALLY I aced it!!!!!!

And we BEAT OUT the top two super-genius teams who win practically every Trivia Night and we can finally GET OUR PICTURE ON THE WALL OF FAME!!! WOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

.............the thought does occur that if any of you Geek Fight peeps had been here you would have gotten even more questions right. That sudden death round was on urbandictionary terms, for Hawking's sake. I cannot believe I was the ONLY one who answered 'Hipsters' on one question and 'Dork' on another. I mean, what do people do all day?*

BUT STILL I HELPED OUR TEAM WIN FIRST PLACE WOOOOOOOOOOOO

*yes, I know the answer is 'something more interesting, usually.' let me have my moment plz.

notebook drawings

Dug through my things and found pictures from the Italy trip with my cousins some years back. They make very nice drawing references.

I also have a very cute, and very cheap, small notebook, the Chinese-stationery character kind. It has interesting textures, sweet sayings and funny little illustrations. I thought they would go quite well with my new hyperrealistic pen style.

They do!