Sunday, April 26, 2009

Gym class fairy


I drew this at one of the 3 conferences I've attended this spring for my day job at MIT. It's your classic gym class fairy, except he's owning it a bit more than I did in junior high and high school. I just tried to melt into the background so I wouldn't actually have to throw anything. I love drawing gay teens in Archie style (see the entry "No. 12" of the Tomboy, likely lesbian). I installed Painter today and was playing around with it. Horrible first venture here, using the pastels tool.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Reading

My bike accident has allowed for some nice quiet time at home. Among the nice quiet activity, I revisited some Krigstein and Toth. I also was able to finally read a bit of Pratt (I had bought a beautiful hardcover printed at actual size Corto Maltese stuff when I was @ Angouleme Festival; my French is bad so it seems to get to the bottom of my reading list quickly). I'm now re-inspired by their ability to craft such dynamic drawings even from the simplest of moments. Here, I attempt to make "reading" engaging for the viewer. I wasn't teribbly selective about the title, it just happened to be on my mind. If I had an actual backstory here, I would have chosen a novel most appropriate to the moment.
ANOTHER DOODLE: on the same page as the first drawing in my sketchbook. Here, the Emo boy is pining for the reading boy. I've tried to make the subject more fully engaged in the pining. The dialogue is deliberately no help; without the body language and facial expression, "—He reads!" has almost no meaning at all. Let's ignore the fact that it looks like he's leaning on a toaster oven. ON READING: I am determined to finish reading Vanity Fair. I started reading it November 2007 on the recommendation of a friend. It is an easy read, and a good read, but a long read; and I am a slow reader. But, I am determined to finish it before November 2009. Wish me luck—!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Bike boy

So much to say about biking! PART ONE: Regarding this particular drawing, about a month back, we enjoyed a day or two of warm weather. For Boston in March, that means a light jacket, and perhaps shorts if you are of sturdy stock. As Fish-philes know, I took in my dog from an abusive home 8 years ago, and she's a shy girl in public settings. Over the years I've tried to acclimate her to new people and places as I can. This day, we stopped in Davis Square to sit and people-watch. As I sat there, a cute fellow biked up and sat across from me, and I sketched him. PART TWO: 2 weeks ago, I was knocked off my bike in traffic! I was very lucky to not be run over. My assailant gave me and my wrecked bike a ride home. I later went to the hospital—nothing broken or concussed. But, I was really bruised up and in a lot of pain. UPDATE: I now have normal walking mobility back, though running and biking are still out. Thank you all for the many well-wishes! Sadly, I haven't had the wherewithal to write and draw much.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Psylocke part 1

I am way overdue to make a Psylocke commission. I was however, inspired to make this postcard as an apology for how horribly long I am taking (the commission was paid for in January!). I don't know if I will make the butterfly thing in the actual drawing... we'll see. For a B&W drawing, I am more apt to make it out of a zip-a-tone pattern of something. Anyway, I did this postcard with prismacolor markers (which I am very bad at using) and a brush pen.