blog design

I almost forgot to mention: I'm  in desperate need of knowledge on how to redesign my blog page.  It's just so...well, you can see how bland it is.  It wants to be personalized, dammit!  Any (detailed--remember, I am a suck at computer stuffs) tips will be greatly appreciated, I assure you.

Loves!

Holiday-time

In case you haven't heard, I'm moving.  Again.  We still have to finish emptying out the storage unit (which is FULL of Trek's stuff; mostly collectible toys and comics) and putting it all in the attic (attics creep the bejeez out of me) of the new house.  I've been constructing furniture, making a floor in the attic, and preparing to paint several rooms in the new house.  The babysitting jobs this time of year are much more numerous (due to all the Christmas parties), so I've been busy watching all the little children for the past few weeks as well.  

Just like my fellow comic artist, Cara McGee, I was really looking forward to the winter break.  I planned on improving my inks, finishing up a short story I started last semester, and working on WM.  I haven't been able to do much of this, except for a few character studies and solidifying the scene breakdown for WM.  There are several other projects that I want to work on, and some that I just won't let go (yes, Jonas, I still have The Inspired on my mind). 

Also:

I've lately been very inspired, if not intimidated, by the skills of a fellow SCAD-Atlanta student.  I'm trying to channel this into working harder on my art and developing my particular style.  I grew up in the age of the great Jim Lee, so I always strived to replicate his way of drawing people.  I find much more compelling, however, the way that Chris Schweizer designs characters or the way that Shawn Crystal works his inks.  I have to find the style that speaks most to my sensibilities and way of seeing the world, and how to inject that into my comics!

I've obviously been thinking a lot lately.  But I have to DO it!

The last time that James Lucas Jones visited SCAD-Atlanta, he said that my ink lines look reluctant, so the firsty first thing that I'm going to hardcore work on will be my inks.  I want to make my art as awesome as possible!!  

Also wik:

I haven't posted any images in a while.  This is mostly due to the fact that, since getting my iMac (it's the sexist machine ever!), my scanner seems to connect to my computer only about 30% of the time, which is just weird.  I bet that there's some totally hot computer dork who'll come over to my house and work out what the hecks is wrong.

Which reminds me: In my new house, I'll have an actual studio.  This means that I'll have a room (totally separate from the room that keeps my bed and all my clothes) dedicated to my computer, my art, and my video games.  There'll be a futon and an attached bathroom, so you're totally welcome to sleep over.

Et, viola.

texturestexturesdetailstextures

I need to movemovemove.

Epic Blogger Fail

I tried uploading some files, but blogger experienced some sort of error.

Try to eat your pears within one week of purchase.

Hey, guys.  I'm throwing up a band poster that I did for my friends' best fake band ever, Bullet-Bill Time.  They rank in the top 100 online Rockband bands, so I'm pretty proud of them.

Summer classes

I'm heavily immersed in summer classes, my internship at Gaijin, and trying to see my friends on a regular basis. 

In my Writing for Sequential Art class, we're building characters and stories that will (hopefully) grow into full-fledged and fully fleshed-out story ideas.  I finally have a structured way to get these characters out of my head and onto paper where they belong.  Needless to say, this class has been awesome.  My undergraduate education focused on breaking down stories (in the form of plays) and analyzing them.  This is the first class in which I get to study storytelling from conception to realization.  

Gaijin is super awesome.  I get to hang out with and learn from some of the coolest people on earth.  Brian Stelfreeze, Doug Wagner, Cully Hamner, Laura Martin, Karl Story and Tony Shasteen are all amazingly talented and inspire me to work harder and improve my skills.  I've already learned so much from Brian, it almost makes my head explode.  The Gaijiners are super funny, super laid back, and super patient.  They're willing to share all their knowledge and skills with us, and I'm incredibly grateful for all that I've learned so far. 

 Courtney and I actually got to hang out this past Friday.  We grabbed dinner and then went out to see Hellboy II (super cheesy, but still bearable fun...I think).  As always, Court and I had a blast, we got a chance to catch up with each other, and she told me the awesome news: she and Darold are getting married!!!  I'm so happy for them!!  They're a great couple and they're gonna be so good together.

I also got a chance to hang out with Takkun, Danielle, and Corky on Saturday.  Dan made a cameo early in the evening, which was super unexpected and a great breath of fresh Dan.  After dinner, we went to see Iceberg Slim at the Beep Beep Gallery in Midtown.  Getting to see John and Tom again after HeroesCon was great, and I hope that I'll get a chance to see them more often now that I quit my job.

I plan on seeing Geoff's Murder Mystery show on Friday, so maybe I'll see you there!!

Here at HeroesCon!!

Hey, everybody!! I'm back from LA (actually, I got back into Atlanta this past Thursday, but I've been so busy running around and such that I haven't had a chance to post)!!!! Actually, I've been here at HeroesCon in Charlotte since Friday (I haven't stopped driving for two weeks). I'm having the best time meeting people and hanging out with my fellow SCADians. I finally got to meet Chris Brunner and Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley (eep!), among others, and they're all so nice and cool and stuff.
I'm working on some pages for my Gaijin Studios intern assignment, and I'll be sure to post more images once I get back to Atlanta (again) and scan some arty art.

Love to all!
Jackie

The next two weeks

I know that I haven't posted in a super long time, dear reader, but you will have to wait still longer for a proper entry. I'm driving from Atlanta to LA and back again over the next two weeks. I'm going out there to see my brother, and my mother and I are going to see the country as we go. I am completely and utterly excited about the whole thing, and I know that I'm going to have a good time.

Wish me luck and fun!

I swear that I'll post more...but it may all be classwork...

Hey, look out for monter fish! You never know when they might try to eat you (shown actual size)!

So, I'm stomping on through Contemporary Art and Materials and Techniques of Sequential. I'm lovelovelove-ing it all. I would stay in school forever if it was free. I've decided to go with Roy Lichtenstein for my research paper, but I haven't decided on a good enough thesis that will keep me talking for 12+ pages. We're working on different techniques of rendering comic panels in M&T, and with each technique we produce one panel that is part of a cumulative 8-part storyline. I'll wait until I'm completely finished, and then I'll shove all of them into one post. However, just to stave your hunger for stuff, here's a brush-technique exercise that's due this wednesday:

I know you're asking yourself, "Who is that guy?" Well, it's Tarzan, silly! We also did an excercise with the pigment pens using a film noir-style still of Robert Mitchum and one using nibs of Veronica Lake. It's very cool (to me, at least) to take this info and apply it to my particular style.

I had an interview for an intern position at Gaijin studios on Friday! I got to meet Cully Hamner, which was super exciting! The guys were so nice; it would be so cool to be able to work with them and get some real hands-on experience seeing what they do.

I almost forgot! Geoff's movie premiere, Loaded Guns the Movie,was awesome fun last Friday. I laughed harder than I have laughed in a long time, and I was more grossed out than I have been since Narissa and I had gross-out wars. I just have to have my own copy of the dvd. It's so Upright Citizens brigade-meets-Kids in the Hall, and it stars my friends. How much better can it get? Here's how much better:

Is it wierd that I'm posting a picture of just me? I swear that I was there with a bunch of other people (you can see the Hen on the right there), but we didn't get any photos together. Geoff took this one, bc he's a photo ninja.

I make this face all the time, by the way.

School has forced me to put a big fat pause on writing my first graphic novel, but that's alright. I'll get back on that real soon.

I made ramen today.

Completely random (but delicious!)

Thought that I'd throw up a couple of things.

Here's a triptych that I did for my Methods class in the fall:

And here's Lord Voldemort, graciously representing my first stab at watercolors outside of Hung's class:

Abe fights a basilisk

Yet another submission from the Temple's weekly sketch challenge!

Dusty Star images

Dusty Star sketch challenge for the Temple this past week:

I took the simple line drawing, Then I just dropped some color on it:




















I obviously still need some digital design/coloring classes.
Also, I realize that I left the star off of her shirt, but it would have been placed so close to the edge of the large star, that I feel like it might have looked strange. So, I left it off.


I always look back at whatever I've done and I keep thinking of how to improve. There's always room for improvement, you just have to give each project all you've got!

A few of my favorite things:
High collars
Goggles
Gas Masks
Big, chunky gloves

As evidenced by this cute little ballpoint sketch that I did when I got home tonight.

Thinking about posting...

A quick graphite sketch of the main character from one of the graphic novels that I'm working on:

I love drawing different types of characters. Paper and pencil are so maleable. You can make them do whatever you want! Simply by changing the angle of a line, you can affect direction, mass, motion, anything! I still have problems with foreshortening, etc, but I love to think about how art gives you complete freedom!

Am I rambling? Perhaps.

Here's an old old self-portait from when I had long hair. But I still like it:

Happy late V-Day

I know that it's perhaps a bit late to wish the world a happy Valentine's Day (well, unless you're on the west coast, so maybe my brother will get to read this in time), but I've just been too busy for love! *sigh*

Anyway! Here's my submission to the Temple this week:

I can't wait to find out what the challenge is gonna be for next week! I really like these mini-assignments each week because, even though they're not for a grade and I'm not getting paid (if I was, I'd spend much more time on them, obviously) , they help me branch out of the subject matter that I'm used to tackling. They also kinda force me to learn about another little bit of pop culture that I don't know much about. I always knew that Iron-Man was a drunkety drunk and a bit of a womanizing jerk (info that I pretty much derived from Jonas talking about him), but this challenge inspired me to go to the Marvel website and actually read up on Iron-Man's history.

So, I'll....go back to...um.

I think I'll go to sleep now.

Just an update

I just got home from work after a day of running around like crazy nuts. I'm about to start working on some Life Drawing homework, then I'll either get to work on my Iron Man submission for the templeofcartoonmojo.blogspot.com, or I'll try to refine specifics in the opening scene of my book.

Just thought I'd throw something at you guys thatI did a few years ago:

I did this for a very good friend of mine who is a huge Hellboy fan. I think that it was a birthday present, if I'm not mistaken. I had to borrow it back so that I could scan it...I should probably give it back.

Temple submission this week

I just finished up my Blade Runner sketch challenge submission for the Temple of Cartoon Mojo. Believe it or not, I had never seen the film, but I am incredibly happy that this assignment has more or less forced me to see it. I love it when "research" consists of seeing an awesome flick.

The Kickoff

Hello! I'm Jackie, and I'm starting this blog so that I may better chronicle my rise into the wide, wondrous world of sequential art. Keep checking back, and I'll keep on blogging.