ready

[listening to "skyfall" from adele]

here she is, all done and ready to rock! i'm finally starting to get some do new work for this year's con season. i'm working on new prints and a brand new volume of my Hot Cakes artbook. exciting stuff folks!
this Harley Quinn is meant to match the Poison Ivy that i did a while back. figured i'd go for the obvious playing card look for her instead of the more Mucha-esque version of Poison Ivy. same idea, different method. this one took me a long time to finish. if u remember, i had the lines for this done months ago. but paying projects got in the way (of course). no matter, it's done now!
much like what i did with the Poison Ivy, this is sorta my take on her normal look (by normal, i really just mean NOT the New52 look - cuz i hate it). i hope folks don't mind the non-traditional harley look. i really just don't like the diddly-bops on her head when she wears the jester hat. but the ponytails i can live with.

here are the progress shots. thanx to the ever-amazing Loish, i found some new brushes from her blog to this person's deviantart account and it was like a whole new world opened up! i had no idea brushes like these could achieve the look i've been trying to get. i've apparently been doing things the hard way. =P and with these new stock patterns i got from another person's deviantart, i decided to throw it in the mix just to see what it would look like. i did a LOT of messing with blending modes and opacity to get it to mix properly. so this really took even longer than it already has cuz of all the trials/errors of using these new tools. but overall i'm pleased with the outcome. i know the more i use it, the easier and faster it'll be. i'm just glad i saw it.

commission reminder

just a friendly reminder that today and tomorrow are the last days to get on my commission list for Emerald City Comic Con if you're interested. i won't be able to draw anything WHILE i'm there so i will be drawing before we leave to have it ready for pickup at the convention. here are the details again:

• full-body commission (prices are per character) - $100 for color | $50 for black & white
• waist-up commission (prices are per character) - $50 for color | $25 for black & white
• what to expect - full-body commissions are drawn on 11x14" smooth bristol | waist-up commissions are drawn on 8.5x11" smooth cardstock | little to no backgrounds (backgrounds are an additional fee - contact me for more info) | my con commissions are colored with copic markers
• payment - i take Paypal for this only. i do ask for full payment up front instead of at the show. it's absolutely nothing personal. i just want to make sure that if i draw for someone, they really want it.
• pick-up - you can pick up your finished commission from me as early as the Friday of the show. if you contact me next Wednesday evening with a commission request, then i may have to take your piece to finish after the first day of the show, in which case you can pick it up on Saturday. you can find me at the BOOM Studios booth sketching up Adventure Time covers OR possibly hanging out with theFranchize as he draws zombie sketches on the FVZ  side. if you can't pick up your piece for some reason at the show, email me and i'll contact you when i get back home so we can work out details then.
• want one? email me at penelope@identitycomics.com!

 

i just finished a Harley Quinn piece last night so here's a teaser/close-up! i'll be posting up the whole thing with progress shots tomorrow. 

hungry

[listening to "halcyon" by ellie goulding]

i guess kitkats and coffee isn't exactly part of a balanced breakfast. but it sure does taste good! =)

i've been trying to explore the direction my art is trying to go and this flatter graphic look is kinda where it went. but in doing this (and some other piece that i've scrapped) i think i've realized this is NOT where i'm really going. i like the end result, and i like it when other people do stuff like this, but i just don't think i see the world this way. if that makes any sense at all. =/ i think when i attempt to do this, i'm just copying someone else and basically faking it. which may work on different occasions but long-term is doomed to fail.

i do have to take a moment to publicly thank my loving husband, Jerry, for giving me the opportunity to explore my art with all the support that a fragile/sensitive artist like me needs to stay positive. i do not for one second take this type of support for granted because i know too many other people who can't get it from those closest to them. it's not everyday that you find someone that works hard so that YOU can explore and find your true calling, no matter how long it takes.

now, enough of that gooey stuff. back to work! (but first, i gotta eat.)

new thing

PRE-CON COMMISSION LIST FOR EMERALD CITY!

here's something new!  theFranchize and i will be attending Emerald City Comic Con for the first time ever at the end of the month! we are super excited to be going that it's tough to contain! BOOM! Studios, the friendly folks that bring you Fanboys Vs Zombies and Adventure Time comics, are flying us all the way to Seattle, WA to sign stuff and sketch even more stuff all weekend. with our strict schedule at the booth, neither of us will have any time to do any personal commissions at the show. soooo, we've decided to try a pre-convention commission list starting now until next Wednesday, Feb. 27th. if you want to get a commission from me, get on my list now and you can pick up your piece from me at the show! interested? here are details.

• full-body commission (prices are per character) - $100 for color | $50 for black & white
• waist-up commission (prices are per character) - $50 for color | $25 for black & white
• what to expect - full-body commissions are drawn on 11x14" smooth bristol | waist-up commissions are drawn on 8.5x11" smooth cardstock | little to no backgrounds (backgrounds are an additional fee - contact me for more info) | my con commissions are colored with copic markers
• payment - i take Paypal for this only. i do ask for full payment up front instead of at the show. it's absolutely nothing personal. i just want to make sure that if i draw for someone, they really want it.
• pick-up - you can pick up your finished commission from me as early as the Friday of the show. if you contact me next Wednesday evening with a commission request, then i may have to take your piece to finish after the first day of the show, in which case you can pick it up on Saturday. you can find me at the BOOM Studios booth sketching up Adventure Time covers OR possibly hanging out with theFranchize as he draws zombie sketches on the FVZ  side. if you can't pick up your piece for some reason at the show, email me and i'll contact you when i get back home so we can work out details then.
• want one? email me at penelope@identitycomics.com! 

again, i will NOT be able to draw any personal commissions at the show and the likelihood of drawing one at the end of the day is slim. we are at the mercy of BOOM - what they say, goes! so if you want a commission from me, now's the time. =)

SPREAD THE WORD AND TELL UR FRIENDS!

worked

[listening to "thrift shop" by macklemore & ryan lewis]

"i'm gonna pop some tags, only got $20 in my pocket." yeah, it's a lot like that right now. =P

got lots of balls in the air and i'm doin all this juggling to make sure it all works out. i can't even imagine if i have kids right now. i did manage to do some warm up sketches before the boring administrative work began. btw, if ur thinkin u wanna work from home and be a freelance artist, do it! BUT be prepared to do lots and lots of boring work along with it, like emails, contracts, and taxes (yikes!). comes with the territory.
btw, if i haven't mentioned it before, i use "models" from photos when i do these warm-up sketches. the models are there for me to learn from. some artists are blessed with live-action drawing sessions wherever they live but that's not happenin for me. so the internet is my very best friend. most of my warm-up sketch "models" are from a fellow artist's fantastic tumblr page bombatomically. if u need reference on gorgeous women of varying sizes and ethnicity, he's got loads of great stuff on there.

worn

[listening to "turning page" by Sleeping At Last]

ok so after spending the first half of the day battling a monster of a migraine, the excedrin finally kicked in and i was able to finish ONE thing. sigh. i feel pretty exhausted, mostly from the miserable part of my day. i didn't get to do any warm-up sketches like i wanted either. lame.
anyways, so this is the only thing i have to show for now. we did the VA Comicon this Sunday and i did another commission there for the super-swell-guy Tom King (author of "A Once Crowded Sky"). this is his original character Mashallah (i think that's her name). we were originally supposed to do another one-day con up in PA (which had an ice festival alongside it) but because of a loss in the family last week, we really had to stay a little closer to home. hopefully we'll make it up to those who were looking for us at the other con when Wizard World Philly comes around or something.

loved

[listening to disney love songs]

happy lovey-dovey day everyone! finished this up in time to make my Valentine's Day card for my Sun and Stars - my hubby theFranchize! i know it seems a little girly, but i really liked Vanellope's design. reminds me of a spunky mini-me. =) her name is so close to mine, she seems to be made of mint chocolate (my favorite combo besides mac and cheese), and she's a racer (if u ask anyone, they'll tell u i drive a lil too fast). see, perfect! =)
tried something new with this one - the line art is all digital instead of scanned from my sketch. and i used the Lino Crayon (or was it just Crayon?) brush in photoshop just to see. then i colored it a little more loosely than usual.  and only after i started doing shadows and highlights did i notice her hair ties were Twizzlers. i thought they were just ribbons, hence the squared-off edges. ah well.

anyways, i'll leave it up to the hubby if he wants to share the finished card with the world. but as far as i'm concerned, it's just for him. everyone feels some kind of way about this day. for me, i think u should take an opportunity every single day to let the one u love know they're ur everything. but i take today to double-down on it. hold them a little tighter, kiss a little longer, cuz tomorrow's not promised.

i hope everyone is as lucky as me to find and marry someone that makes them feel like they're the most important person in the world. i get to spend the rest of my life with my high school sweetheart. it doesn't get any better than this. what we've got, it's movie love.

validated

[listening to Do Me! by bell biv devoe]

this is my sketch for a valentine's day image. i am going to attempt very very hard to finish this up and turn it into a VDay card for the hubby before thursday. i haven't drawn him a VDay card in a few years and i was looking for any excuse to draw Vanellope von Schweetz (from "Wreck It Ralph"). after drawing her, i realize she looks a whole lot like a Chippette. hmm....

so i can't hold it in any longer - i just got accepted to be a member of Girls Drawin Girls!!! such an incredible group of ladies with some of the greatest talent i've seen. i've only heard about them last year and always wondered how i can be a part of it. i mean, the name says it all! i was afraid i wasn't good enough, as most people feel with any new thing, but apparently i'm good to go! man, nothin like being in a group of successful female artists to make u feel like u haven't accomplished a dang thing. but it's great motivation. =) so here's to a great start to the year and some fun new art! check out their website, girlsdrawingirls.com - click on ARTISTS, and i'm there, yo! i'm so so soooo excited!

and as if that's not exciting enough, i just booked our flights to Seattle, WA cuz we're goin to Emerald City Comic Con at the end of the month! the hubby theFranchize has once again been asked to draw zombie caricatures at the BOOM! Studios' booth for "Fanboys Vs Zombies." as for me, they're having me be a part of the KaBOOM! side of things drawing Adventure Time sketches! gotta start practicing my jakes, finns, princess bubblegums, and the myriad of other characters.

done

[listening to "if it isn't love" by new edition]

www.BigHeadsLittleBodies.com

we're about to go out of town in the morning for our first Super Pet Expo of the year in Edison, NJ. theFranchize and Flash draw pet caricatures at this expo. they have so many talents. i get to take the money and keep tabs on sales this time. (which is funny because normally i get somewhat offended by people assuming that i'm only at the artist alley tables at comic cons to collect the money for my male studiomates. this time it's actually true and i ain't ashamed!) if you live in Edison, NJ and looking to do something fun with your pet, head out to the Super Pet Expo! it's a great place to bring your pets and spend frivolously on them, and then find our booth and get a caricature done!

i didn't wanna leave without a quick update. aside from finishing up Fanboys Vs Zombies issue #12 inks, i've just finished updating the our caricature business's website BigHeadsLittleBodies.com! now it's more focused on the two guys specifically instead of selling the services of an entertainment agency. anyways, since i had no drawings to show, this is all i gots. =P so if you're in their service area and looking for caricatures, visit the site and call em!

with that said, i'm finally done for the night! see u all next week!

ruffled

(i reblogged this image from BleedingCool.com. for their full article, go to http://bcool.bz/12pLYdS)

i don't usually do this on my blog but this morning, this image just kinda ruffled my feathers a bit when i saw it. so please allow me to vent for just a sec before i get back into drawing.

u know, no matter how much i like a Kenneth Rocafort's art, and other male artists for that matter (cuz there's lots of them), i always forget that they're still dudes. they know sexy, but only through their eyes. i'm not saying this is true of all male artists, by any means. but if you've been at comic cons' artist alleys, then you know what i mean. when some women draw sexy women (and again, this isn't true of all women artists), there's a softness to their female figures. they're sexy in a more underlying fierce way that isn't outwardly obvious. kinda like a tiger crouched to pounce. u know the tiger's going to kill, but he doesn't stomp around like an elephant (which, ironically, wouldn't kill another creature for food).

look, i'm no writer so my analogies and references aren't so great. i'm just speaking from the heart here, shootin from the hip. i'm RUFFLED, for pete's sake.

anyways, u know what i'm sayin! but with THIS image, there's nothing ROMANTIC about what they're doing. just cuz they're kissing doesn't mean its romantic. the industry always wonder why women don't read more comics. its cuz of crap like this! it's a huge turnoff, especially on the cover of a huge publishing company with two of its biggest star players. why can't they treat Wonder Woman with respect?! since when do women kiss men with their one leg up around his waist?? who does this?! and it certainly doesn't help that she wears what she wears cuz now her ass is sticking out! don't get me wrong, i'm a HUGE advocate of what some may call "the swimsuit" on WW. but when u draw her in these positions, her ass is sticking out, plain and simple.

is this image passionate? yes. maybe even aggressive. but romantic? no, i don't think so. men and women have been kissin since whenever ur personal religious/spiritual beliefs tell u they've been on the face of the earth. we have got to know the difference between romantic and aggressive by now. i mean c'mon, this is ME writing this. i'm all about sexy women doing sexy things in my drawings. but there's something unappealing to me when i see my favorite superheroine doing something overtly sexy for the sake of shock value to my favorite superhero. this would all be fixed if they gave her a little respect and put her leg down. this image isn't about love, it's sex. let's just call a spade a spade here. again, Rocafort's art - i love it. great stuff! he's an amazing artist. but at the end of the day, he's a dude that can draw women really well and dudes draw women the way they wish they were. and even still, this isn't really his fault. cuz i know it had to go through lots of editors, all of whom gave it 2 thumbs up.

so once again, thank you DC Comics, for reminding why i don't bother to buy your comics. it's been a while since my eyes bled from the sight of Catwoman doin Batman on the rooftops that only a true slut could in my comic book. i almost started to think maybe it was just a one time deal. but nope, instead of having a romantic relationship with another superhero, i see they're still just bumpin uglies like a soap opera and then switching off. others may be fine with this idea that superheroes can't be for kids anymore and everything has to be catered to 18+ age group. but for me, there's always a time and a place for all things. and lately all i've been seein is sexy time.

rant ended. back to work. sorry guys.

ready

[listening to "Lil Freak" by usher & nicki minaj]

Finished AP sketchcard of Spider-Woman Ultimate

sorry for the online silence this past week but i'm back and ready to get stuff done! the hubby and i went on a little vacay last week. started out as a family vacation w/ my fam, but the majority of them backed out so it turned into more of a relaxing getaway. we took the opportunity to enjoy doing nothing for a couple of days. unfortunately, however, there was shoddy reception on our phones and zero data comin in. meaning no way to reach the social networks and emails bounced back like bullets to superman. how did we live like this before!?! insanity.
anyways, this is gonna be a short work week for us since we're headin out to a pet expo in NJ this weekend. the guys are drawin caricatures of doggies (and other types of pets)! so much fun while we're there but it's really exhausting. we're there for 10 hours each day and pretty much non-stop drawin and sellin. good for the pockets, not so good for the buttcheeks & back. =P i'm going to rework the Big Heads Little Bodies Caricatures website this week before we leave. so not so much drawing from me this week, just behind-the-scenes boring productivity. story of my life.

thought i'd share. this is a pic of me and the hubby that we took for the person that bought this original "Fanboys Vs Zombies" page on ebay. (they asked us for a picture holding the page, we didn't just take it cuz we got big egos or nothin.) we're so very grateful for our fans. seemed like it was just yesterday when we were drawing X-Men and Sailor Moon doodles in our notebooks in high school, now we're sellin original pages. =)