Mandapandarawks

:beginrant:

2010-11-14T22:45:00.003-05:00

Now, I know that I am not a "professional" artist. I don't make a living off of the commissions I illustrate, nor do I make any money off of the stuff I create just "for fun." That's fine with me. I've come to terms with this, and realize I will always have a day job. Though I am highly critical of myself, and deem my work less worthy than other aspiring artists in similar situations, I know that I am skilled enough to balk at someone wanting to offer me less than minimum wage for a fully finished illustration. I've spent my entire life honing my craft, not to mention five years of (expensive) college that earned me a Bachelor's Degree in Art and Design. I would never dream of asking for some of the outrageous prices other, "real" artists ask for; I don't feel I have the same skill level and probably never will. But to offer an artist such a pittance is an offense and a slap in the face. Does this make me an elitist snob? My God, I sure hope not.
It's late and my thoughts aren't assembling themselves into coherent sentences. I just really, really needed to rant about this.

It's ALIVE!

2010-07-21T20:07:00.003-04:00

Yeah, I'm still around. I seriously haven't been motivated to do much of anything but brainless activities since my last post back in February, though I'll get to that later. My big news is, I am pregnant again and I am having a boy. Liam (what we're gonna name the little squirt) is due December 2, and I am just as excited and nervous the second time around as I was the first. I was really expecting another girl! I've been getting complacent, and then WHABAM, I get a big shocker. I'm used to taking care of a (now two years old!) little girl, so having a boy will definitely change things up a bit in the Webb household. Good thing most of the big stuff I already have, like the car seat, bouncy chair, stroller, etc, are gender neutral. Hell, even if they weren't I would still use 'em. Too poor to buy more baby stuff! (Though I must admit, I did buy my first little boy sleeper while shopping with mi madre today. It irritates me that boy clothes are limited to trucks or sports decor. Both Rory and I are quite artsy, thankyouverymuch, and don't want to make our son one of those manly men, if you get my drift.)
Not to keep Fiona out of the spotlight, she just celebrated her second birthday this past Monday. I can't believe my little girl is TWO! My Mom asked me if she was gonna go to preschool next fall. That is even weirder for me to think of her going to any kind of school ...
Anyways, onto more depressing matters. It seems that I can't find my art groove again. I have had art funks in the past, and some prolly just as long as this one has been, but I feel like I am losing it. Since march, I've prolly only done 5 or 6 different illustrations, all of which were commissions that I had to literally force myself to do. I don't know what to do, or how to get myself out of this. It's hard to explain, because I have lots of ideas for what I want to draw, like starting my own comic, or character illos from my stories, but the actual "design" of what I want to do is just not coming to me. For instance, I usually get an idea in my head for what I want to draw, like what sort of composition, and then I am off into that weird drawing voodoo and I can't stop until it is finished. But ... I haven't had that voodoo in a long time. I sincerely miss just DRAWING. I know that I should just be working it out and forcing myself to sketch, sketch, sketch, but I have tons of excuses not too. "I'm too busy, I am tired, I wanna catch up on Glee before season 2 starts, I wanna finish playing FF13 ..." the list goes on. If anybody happens to read this and has some ideas, send them my way! I'm getting desperate. Cross your fingers that this funk ends soon. (Prolly as soon as Liam is born, and I literally won't have ANY time for doodling with two kids to contend with!)
That's about all I've got for now. I really will try to keep this blog updated more often, at least to show I am still around and still serious about my little freelancing art gig. By the way, I am most definitely still taking commissions, despite my art funk! Maybe YOUR commission will be the ray of light to guide me from this crazy shadow!!

Back in the Good Ole Days ...

2010-02-09T12:37:00.001-05:00

... I would have hours upon hours of free time to sit in front of the computer and digitally color my illustrations. Now I have to wait until my day off (Wednesday) for the two hour window when Fiona sleeps before I can get any computer work done! I wouldn't trade any of it for the world, but I do miss being able to crack out fully-colored drawings in one, sometimes two, days. Ah well, I've still been told I produce illustrations quickly, especially given how little time I have to actually draw. That always makes me feel better.
I've still been working on Otherverse Games commissions, as well as a portrait of three young girls for an etsy customer. That one has taken me lots of tweaking to get the sketch just right, but I want it to be perfect.
Pretty soon, I should have some stock art packages up on indie rpg game websites, thanks to Chris Field. I just wish I knew more about some of these programs (that I don't have the money to purchase) to be able to figure this stuff out on my own! What I really want to be able to do is make a badass website. Alas, I shall suffer with my poor attempts at one for now; it's served me well so far and gotten me lots of commissions. If only I could continue to do this as a full-time job! That seems to be my most common complaint/rant, and a similar one for other freelance artists as well, I'm sure.
Here's another art teaser for you guys. This is the finished inks illo called "Shiftsteel Symbiont" for Otherverse Games' "Psi-Watch." I'll be coloring this digitally pretty soon and I am quite excited about it.

Lots of Work

2010-02-03T22:08:00.000-05:00

As the title says, I have been busy the last week or so with a bunch of new commissions, most of them from Chris Field for his Otherverse stuff. Here's a little preview of what I am working on:

I don't normally post sketches, as I tend to look upon my own with disdain for the looseness and overall messiness, but I know people sometimes like to see the "works in progress." I've always wanted to do a Mucha-style illustration, and Chris's "neo-Witch Midwife" commission gave me a perfect opportunity to do so. I'll try to post the finished images as I get them done.

On top of commissions, I've got the impending artprize 2010 to work on. I'm feeling nervous already, since I haven't started any of the drawing yet, even though I have, technically, until September. I know how stressed out I was last year scrambling to finish all of my Tarot cards, and I definitely don't want a repeat. Hopefully fully illustrating a fantasy fairy tale won't be as crazy as an entire deck of Tarot cards ... riiiiiight. At least I KNOW that I can finish these huge projects; it makes me feel better knowing I've got that going for me, at least.

In non-art related news, Fiona is growing SO FAST and is a little girl all of a sudden. When did this happen? She's almost 19 months old. We went to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum yesterday with my best friends, Kate and Brad, and their son James, who is two and a half months older than the Fij and who I babysit once a week. (It's so cute that they are growing up together. Kate watches Ona once a week as well.) They had a BLAST and I realized how old I was when I was tired after an hour of chasing after a running around little girl!
She loved those Legos. Dad will be pleased!

A Lengthy Endeavor

2010-01-25T20:56:00.000-05:00

I am in the process of trying to create my own book entirely from scratch. I've always had lots of stories floating around in my head, but this one lent itself to a sort of Stardust-esque fairy tale, only not as racy. It's called "The Blind Queen," and I've already finished writing it except for some minor editing.
The next part is the layout and illustration. Anyone have any pointers on how the heck I even start the whole layout process? It's quite daunting and I feel stuck. I have a general idea of what I want the book to look like, and I still have to start on the illustrations, but I feel like I shouldn't waste time with drawing until I know exactly what I need to draw, how big, etc. If anyone can point me to some helpful website or tutorials, that would be greatly appreciated!

Some Artprize Musings

2009-09-29T23:10:00.000-04:00

So I didn't do it for the money, let's start right there. Since artprize began last week, I've seen some really awesome pieces of art in the limited areas I've traveled downtown Grand Rapids. There's been a lot of controversy surrounding some of the artists, some of the rules and voting procedures, how the contest is set up, etc. I'd like to draw your attention to this article over at the Grand Rapids Press that pretty much sums up how I feel about artprize so far:
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/09/artist_asks_to_be_withdrawn_fr.html
Lots of artists have been given free press from the news stations around here, the papers, all other various media outlets, like Rob Bliss with his 100,000 paper airplanes and the huge table and chairs setup atop the bridge. (I'm too lazy to look up the actual name of that one, sorry. Just look at the top 25 artists on artprize.org and he'll be one of them, I promise.) So basically what this boils down to is: If you are an artist participating in artprize and you aren't at the BOB or the UICA or the Old Federal Building as your hosted venue, or you don't have huge sculptures outside for all the world to see, you aren't going to get any prize money, publicity, or votes. I'm not trying to sound bitter, but this is absolute fact. We'll find out for sure Thursday based on who the top ten artists are.
Besides all of that, this is a wonderful opportunity for people to get their names out there. I am so thankful to Independent Bank, especially Nickie Leppek, for hosting me at the Monroe Center branch; I had 100 business cards sitting out by my piece, unaware that they would all be gone in two days! I was utterly unprepared for the huge response artprize has had on the people of Grand Rapids. Makes me proud to live here. :)
There's one more day to get registered and vote, but even if you don't, please take some time to scope out the little known venues, because lots of them are packed with some really great artists. Who cares about the prize money and which artist was the most popular? It's about the artwork and the joy it brings people to see it.
All of the art will be up until October 10.

Artprize is TODAY

2009-09-23T10:13:00.000-04:00

Please stop by 86 Monroe Center at 6 PM tonight to vote for my Tarot Cards!!
All the info you need for locations, voting booths, and venues is here
Directions to the bank are here (Just change the starting address to wherever you are coming from)
I really hope to see lots of people there tonight! Wish me luck!!

Important artprize Update!

2009-09-06T19:21:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the lack of posts to the one or two people who actually check my blog! Anyways, I wanted to take a minute to inform you about artprize and how I fit into it.
Artprize is basically this huge art contest where the public votes on who should win. It's based solely in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the artists display their works at different businesses, local parks, or buildings that paid to become official artprize venues. Thousands of artists are taking part, and I am one of them.
My venue is the Independent Bank at Monroe Center. The address there is 86 Monroe Center, Suite 101, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503. I was lucky to find a venue at all, and the only reason I secured the bank is because I work there. (At a different branch) My completed Tarot card deck will be on display as my artprize submission. (The cards are all printed into decks and I will take some pictures soon.)
Artprize begins September 23 and runs until October 10. The first week, the public has to register to vote at one of many registration booths, and after that they can vote for as many artists as they like. (Only once per artist, however.) You can either vote online at artprize.org or via text messaging. Voting works like this:
"To vote online, an attendee can search your name or the name of your work and vote right on your profile.

To vote by text message, each artist will have a 5 digit code that attendees can type into the body of a text message to either vote up or vote down your work (read more about voting up and down below).

Attendees will send all votes to 878787

Your voting codes to include in the message:

vote32111 (vote up)
vote32110 (vote down)"

I really hope you can all make it out to the bank to see my artwork. I would really appreciate your votes!
Here are some helpful links:
map to Independent Bank Monroe Center
locations of voter registration booths
voting information

I'm done!

2009-07-15T13:28:00.000-04:00

Yes! I finished my Tarot card set this week! The work isn't over, however; I have to get them printed (and based on my first quote, it will be quite costly) into decks. I also have to find someone on the artprize venue list who is willing to host me. :( I'm getting depressed thinking that all of this work will be for naught ...
Anyways, I won't bore you with the sad details of my life. I'll save that for a later date, hehe. Firstly, here's a "Christmas face" shot of Ona as she got her birthday present, a light up, music playing shopping cart for her to walk around with.
And here's the last of the major arcana cards. Next week I'll post the Aces, then the Twos, etc. If you really want to see them all in their colorful glory, however, click here.

So where did I leave off ...?

2009-07-08T20:49:00.001-04:00

Oh yes, Tarot cards, of course! I'll get to the images in a second. Firstly, some news. I've only got FOUR MORE CARDS TO GO! That means I'm all the way to the Kings, and rolling right along ahead of schedule. Now, to pay the 50 bucks to enter artprize and find myself a venue ...
After the cards are done, I've got come commissions on deck to get started. There's one more pencil illustration to be finished for Heroes of the Jade Oath, and then I'm working with Chris Field once again for Black Tokyo II. No rest for the wicked, eh? It's fine by me. Because of all of this commission stuff, I haven't fallen into my yearly art funk. That's cause for celebration.
On a different note, my equally creative (only in the film field) husband Rory is hard at work on his latest movie, T.A.R.D.S. I've read through the script and it is hilarious. I know as soon as he's all finished, he'll be posting it in segments on Youtube. (Currently the script is 45 pages long, which equals about a 45 minute movie.) You can check out his progress at the T.A.R.D.S website here. (The site is also a work in progress so check back often for updates!)
Now, back to the Tarot-carding!

Grumpy

2009-07-06T21:57:00.000-04:00

The title says it all. I'm having a Monday for sure. I'll post some more tarot cards to make up for my lack of posts last week. I'm getting a little burnt out, but I only have 7 more cards to go! Full speed ahead, I say. Lots of personal stuff has been making me sad, thus the crankiness. Needless to say, the last three weeks have been dragging on and on.
But, to help cheer me up, I'm gonna post a more current picture of my beautiful daughter Fiona. She'll be a year old July 19! I can't believe it!

Heroes of the Jade Oath

2009-06-24T22:16:00.000-04:00

I'd like to take a little break from the Tarot cards to showcase a set of commissions I've recently worked on for Rite Publishing's Heroes of the Jade Oath. It's a Chinese fantasy setting that I was asked to illustrate in pencil, which is a slight deviation from my normal, stark black and white inking. I haven't done pencil shading since college, so it was an interesting step to take as far as remembering my skills. "White Hair of the Deadly Lotus." "Shenxue Adventurers"
"Monks of the Jade Oath""Sutra"
I have one more illustration from this batch, so look forward to seeing that in the next few weeks!

more more more ...

2009-06-17T11:30:00.000-04:00

Been a sorta crappy past few weeks for me. Family stuff any what not ... I'll just say the next four months are going to be the longest in my life. :(
Anyways, to keep my mind off of things, I've been diligently scribbling away at my cards. I've only got 23 more to finish!! Here's a few that have been done for awhile, the next batch of three that come in line with what I've already posted here.Korgith and Astraea have one of those sappy, sorta dramatic love stories, so they fit well in the card "The Lovers."
What's more badass than a half-demonic man wielding a scythe? Nothing, as far as I'm concerned. Zane is featured on "The Chariot."Here we have Rayne, the saucy piratess, gazing off into the distance on the "Strength" card of the series.

All of the finished cards can be seen, as usual, here: http://www.mandapandarawks.com/current.html

fixed!

2009-06-13T08:04:00.000-04:00

I'm such an idiot.

Next batch of cards

2009-06-11T14:56:00.001-04:00

Here's a few more Tarot cards, as promised:Thesa, instructing a young, large-chinned Rufus decorates "The Empress."
My friend Joy's boyfriend, the evil Calidor looking imposing on "The Emporer."No, he's not accepting an Oscar. This is Nestor standing inside of a crappily-illustrated temple. I hate drawing backgrounds; it's my biggest weakness.

More next week! You can see them all on my website: http://www.mandapandarawks.com/current.html

Artprize!

2009-06-05T21:42:00.000-04:00

Just so you can check it out yourself: www.artprize.org
It's an exciting time for artists in Grand Rapids! I've been working like a madwoman trying to get my nearly-decade long project finished in time to submit to this art contest, an entire set of tarot cards illustrated by me, of course, and featured characters of my own (and my husband's) design. I did a little calculating, and based on how many I have left to complete, (I've got about half of them done out of 78 total) I have to completely finish 4 every week from now until July 31, the contest deadline. That's fully inking, coloring with pencils and markers, scanning, and touching up a half of a deck. Needless to say, I'm a bit overwhelmed and burned out; I'm trying to accomplish this AND stay (barely) on top of my few unfinished commissions. But I've never been more determined in my life to get something of this magnitude finished. Even while in college, with big projects due and my grades on the line, I was never as fully invested in something as I am with this Tarot card ordeal. Perhaps it's because I care about it more than I did a self-portrait for my painting class. (Heck, who the hell wouldn't?) So far I've been able to keep up with my self-imposed pace.
My next step, which will probably be a hurried and frantic one if I manage to complete all of these cards, is to find a decent printer to actually create my images into a physical deck of cards. Any ideas, anyone out there who may actually be reading this? I'm thinking I want them over-sized, like 4x6 or 5x7, glossy, with images on the front and the back. (The back being the same design on each card) I can't wait to see them finished.
And what next? I'd like to bring the stories my husband and I have developed to life via a webcomic of some sort ... that's a mighty undertaking, but we'll see where that goes when I get there.
Anyways, I figured I'd post some of the finished cards here each week so you can see all the hard work I've done.

The one that started it all. "The Fool" is the first card of the major arcana, and my version features a melancholy Korgith gazing across the waves as he begins his search for his mute lady love, Astraea.
(A humorous side note: my friend and former co-worker Brooke developed a crush on Korgith and dubbed him "Nicholas.")

I think this is one of the better colored out of all of the cards so far. "The Magician" features The Prophet foretelling the demise of Rufus and Keldith.

Here's Astraea, and she's naked! She runs around like that lot. This card is "The High Priestess."

You can see all of my completed cards on my website if you're interested. http://www.mandapandarawks.com/current.html

Finnaggler no more

2009-04-01T15:00:00.000-04:00

Geez, I need to update this more. So I love my mac, it's great, but I can't update my website on it because I haven't found anything to actually do it with that I understand. So I had finnaggled an update a few weeks ago from my piece of crap old PC, which is a pain, but it works. Now the PC is dead. So, no new pictures for anyone to see unless I magically learn how to use html code ...
Guh. So thats it really. That and I need a new job. :( But at least I have one, which is more than a lot of people can say.

New Computer

2009-02-24T19:07:00.000-05:00

Yep, I went and bought myself a Mac. I'm still in the process of getting all of my files transferred over, and since my old computer is a POS, it's taking a lot more time and creativity than I originally planned.
So, the artwork is on a short hiatus while I get this figured out. Also, the program I use to make my website isn't Mac compatible, so I haveta find something else that will work. (and is also free) Wish me luck ...

zomgsquealsofprinceofpersiadelight!

2009-02-12T22:23:00.000-05:00

Finally! My PoP fanart extravaganza. How I love this game so much.

Rupert

2009-01-27T10:40:00.001-05:00

He's a bit early, but I'm excited and want to show him off. Look for him on the cover of the February issue of On The Town Magazine, the Arts and Entertainment Magazine of West Michigan.

Also, I just want to promote Hey It's Free! because I visit the website multiple times a day. I'm such a huge coupon and freebie addict now. Hey, with the economy being so bad, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right? Anyways, the creator of the site, Goob, is giving away a bunch of gift cards and stuff for peeps who post about the site on their blogs. So, here goes my entry!

New Year, New Stuff

2009-01-07T19:08:00.000-05:00

Finally got a chance to update my website. I've been diligently working on my Tarot card set; I've been at them for over three years now. I'm amazed, because normally I give up on stuff if it takes me too long. I'm determined to get this project finished; I can't wait to feel that sense of accomplishment when I hold in my hands a printed, shiny deck of cards I created entirely by myself! I'm wondering if anyone would actually be interested in buying a set? Hmm ...

Anyways, a lot of stuff going on for me. Next month (Feb. 2009) my artwork is going to be on the cover of On The Town magazine, the Arts and Entertainment magazine of West Michigan. Basically this is HUGE for me ... my illustration is going to be seen anywhere On The Town is offered!! I was also "interviewed" via email by the assistant editor, Melissa Black, so there's going to be a small editorial about me in the same issue. I can't friggin WAIT until it comes out!!! As soon as they print the magazine, I'm going to post my illustration on my website. I don't want to ruin the surprise! Just to be a tease, I'll tell you the name of it is "Rupert." :) I'm really hoping (and please cross your fingers for me!) that maybe something will happen because of my exposure. A new job, perhaps? Cool new commissions? Only time will tell. It sure would be nice to do art full-time, but I know how unlikely that is so I'm not getting my hopes up TOO high.

I'm also in the midst of doing four more black and white illustrations for the Wizard of Oz RPG. Look for those images soonish.

In other, non-art-related news, Fiona is growing and growing. She likes to squeal loudly, and is learning how to sit up. I've already noticed the beginnings of crawling, so I'm preparing myself for the horrors of a mobile child. ;) Time to start packing up all the valuables and little decorative trinkets I have scattered across my house.

For Christmas I was given *gasp* a PS3 and the new Prince of Persia game from my in-laws. (I'm so spoiled!) I just finished the game a few nights ago; I loved it! The ending, I'll admit, pissed me off at first. Now I have to wait forever for the sequel... anyways, I really like the new Prince. I didn't think Ubisoft could top the Sands of Time Prince, but they did. (They certainly ruined him with Warrior Within, as far as I'm concerned ...) My favorite, however, was Elika. She's awesome, and not your regular damsel-in-distress type character video games tend to make of the female leads. I really enjoy how she's the one saving the Prince's ass all the time. I'm about to take a break from Tarot card drawings to work on a Prince of Persia fan-art illustration that I get excited just thinking about!

A couple new Tarot cards

2008-11-23T23:36:00.001-05:00

Almost done with commissions! I even had some time to get a few Tarot cards scanned that I was able to finish during the usual slow Sunday at work.

Christmas Commissions Galore!

2008-11-19T18:39:00.000-05:00

I THINK I'm done with them all for the time being. I can take a breath, finally! And maybe get back to doing my own work ...
Check out the three Christmas cards I cranked out the past few weeks.

For my Mom, who takes precedence over all, naturally. This is her Samoyed Blizzard, otherwise known as Blizzolf the red-nosed reindog.

For my great-aunt Diana, this is the card that took me the longest and was the most-involved. Seventeen people are on this card!

And finally, my own card. I had to sneak this in really quick, so that's why Rory looks rather ... wonky. :(

Living in History

2008-11-05T17:47:00.000-05:00

How exciting! I can tell Fiona that she was there with me when I voted for the first black president of the US. I put my "I voted" sticker in her baby book. :) I know change won't happen over night, but I'm very hopeful for how things are going to be the next four years. God knows this country needs something different! I really like Michelle Obama; she's intelligent and very well-spoken, and the fact that she is a mother, college-educated, and has a young family really appeals to me. (MUCH more than Sarah Palin, that's for sure!)
I forgot to mention Halloween in my last post, so here's a picture of me dressed as a Native American, She-Who-Harvests-Peas. You'll see why I was given that name. :)

The Busy Seasons

2008-10-29T17:13:00.000-04:00

So I suddenly find myself immensely busy with commissions of a sort. I've been making my Mom's Christmas cards (well not MAKING per se, but drawing) for the past two years now, and now all of a sudden a bunch of my other family members want some of their own. Cool, right? Well, yeah, because it's more money and more chances to get my work out there, but all at once?! It's rather stressful, especially since my free time is basically nil since Fiona was born. I'm getting a crash course in time management, one that has been long overdue methinks.
Anyways, work is the same as when I left it almost four months ago. Depressing, because it wasn't good. I had hopes of things getting better, but it seems they must get worse before that can happen. (And worse it is) I guess I should count my blessings that I even HAVE a job, given the current state of the economy. And I am hugely blessed in other areas of my life, particularly my family. Fiona is growing so fast, and gets cuter and cuter every day! Rory is such a huge help and is so good with her, and I can't believe how lucky I am to have married him! My Mom helps out a lot, like buying her tons of clothes and taking days off to come down to GR to watch her. I wish she could babysit more often (and I know she does too!!)
Fiona's just started rolling over from her back to her tummy. Takes her a little bit, and her arm gets in the way a lot, but she gets determined and keeps trying. She is quite the talker! And so smiley! I like to show her off, so here's a picture of her fropm a couple days ago all bundled up for a walk.

So tired ....

2008-10-20T22:39:00.000-04:00

I really need to update this more! But I'm back to work and I spent a five day marathon there, so you can understand my need for sleep. Especially since I have to wake up early tomorrow! I'll try to update more tomorrow evening after I get a chance at some much needed free time. Until then, feast your eyes upon my adorable baby girl!

Only 4 weeks of freedom left!

2008-09-15T17:55:00.000-04:00

Of course I'm talking about going back to work. I know I shouldn't complain; at least I have a job, right? But I have been dreading going back basically since Fiona was born. I'm luckier than most, because I was able to take the full 12 weeks allotted off for childbirth. Granted, it was all unpaid, but Rory and I were able to save enough for me to be able to do that. Most women only get 6 weeks off and are already back to work full-time. I can't even imagine how hard that is. I know I'm going to have a really hard time of it when October 13 rolls around ...
It's strange to think that I'd rather be a stay at home Mom than a working mother. I have a college degree, and I always was of the opinion that women are more empowered by working, that I'd never be a housewife, etc etc. Now, that's what I want to do! Being a mother does totally change my perspective. Anyone know of any work-from-home deals that really work? ;)
Other than an impending sense of doom (God I wish I had a different job) things are OK. Fiona is growing like a little weed. Here's a picture I took a few days ago. Is it even possible she could get cuter than she was??
I've gotten a few commissions while I've been off work. In fact, I did two portraits for the local Arts and Entertainment magazine here in Grand Rapids, On The Town. I had to draw the editor and assistant editor, and their portraits are going to be in the magazine indefinitely. Pretty cool, eh? I might even be illustrating the cover for February's issue, which will hopefully get me some more hits on my website, and more freelance work. Maybe even a real art job!!
Off to take care of the little squirmer, and hopefully find a chance to update my website as well!

I am now a Mom

2008-08-01T12:18:00.001-04:00

Yeah, with a capital M there. It's a crazy change and not what I expected, but how do you really prepare for such a life-changing event anyways? I don't mean that negatively, either, other than I miss sleeping a full eight hours every night!
Fiona Geraldine Webb was born July 19 2008 at 3:43 in the afternoon. It was about a 15 hour long labor until the docs decided to perform a C-Section; her little head was in a wonky position, and after an hour and a half of pushing, it still wouldn't budge. She was 6 pounds 9 ounces and healthy as can be, so that's all that matters!

Commissions!

2008-06-15T11:05:00.001-04:00

So, for the first time since I started with the crazy business of taking artwork commissions, I've got a backlog of projects! Whee! It's exciting and stressful at the same time, because I don't like to spread myself too thin and work on eighty things at once. I spend all of my energy focused on one thing until it's done, then methodically move onto the next. I feel like I'm such a jerk when I have to explain that to an interested "customer," but so far all the people I've worked for have been really awesome and understanding. I've only had one bad experience in the 2 + years I've been doing this, so I can't complain about that! Granted, I'm not some amazing pro who has work all the time. It's just recently that I've gotten a few all at once. Up until this point, I wasn't working on much of anything. I think part of it was the bad experience I mentioned above (basically finishing some illustrations and not getting paid for them) and how stressed I am all the time at work. (Can't really get into that!)
The only negatives in my life right now are my job. I work 40 hours a week, and usually until 7 PM, and when I come home I'm so tired and sore from carrying this baby around that all I do is laze around on the couch watching Jeopardy. :( If I had even two or three days off in a row, I could get so much done!! I'm hoping Fiona isn't a fussy baby and likes to sleep so maybe I can take commissions while I'm on maternity leave. ;)
I'll post some links to the newest commissions I just finished as soon as I get the OK to publish them on my website.

2008-04-29T22:32:00.000-04:00

Hey ya'll, if you've got a few extra bucks and love comics as much as I do, please read this! The local comic book store I go to, Apparitions Comics in Grand Rapids MI, was robbed last Friday and the owner, a super nice guy named Dave, got shot in the process. Now I'm sure you can imagine the dude doesn't have any health insurance (which he doesn't) given the nature of the business, and he's going to be struggling hardcore as soon as he's released from the hospital.

Check out this website here if you are at all interested in helping Dave out.:
Donations for Dave!

I want to get the word out as much as possible! Even if you live near Grand Rapids, maybe stop by the store and pick up a few comics to help, ANYTHING! Here's a handy link to Google maps for directions to the store:
Apparitions Comics

Thanks guys for any help you can give! Spread the word!!

New Stuff

2007-09-23T19:17:00.000-04:00

So I FINALLY got my scanner hooked up here in the new house. I'm lazy; just ask mi madre. Anyways, check out the new artworks I posted over on my website:

http://www.mandapandarawks.com/laraie.html

A picture for my lovely WoW friend Laraie's birthday. Granted, it was a little late, but when he told me what he wanted me to draw, the inspiration hit and I was all like BAM, it is done.

http://www.mandapandarawks.com/annie.html

http://www.mandapandarawks.com/tyler.html

http://www.mandapandarawks.com/revin.html

Some concept sketches from a webcomic I'm sorta working on as I get the time. My favorite by far is Revin; his costume was fun to design.

http://www.mandapandarawks.com/sixswords.html

http://www.mandapandarawks.com/eightcups.html

http://www.mandapandarawks.com/knightcups.html

A few more unfinished Tarot cards I inked a while ago. I'm almost done with the sketches; only nine more to go! Then I have a ton to ink and THEN color before I can even think of formatting them into actual cards. It's quite a lengthy project but I'm gonna finish it! I wonder if anyone would actually buy them ...?

So that concludes the art updates. Other than that, I'm still depressed about not having an art job. That is a constant in my life. I wonder whether or not I have the ability to even do that for a living, or if I will be relegated to keeping it as a hobby. That would certainly suck balls, but it's a distinct possibility. I really need to branch out, use different media, draw things OTHER than fantasy-themed people. Le sigh; I do so hate to do that sorta stuff, though. I had a weird sorta moment at work the other day, like this huge restlessness that told me I need to kick my ass into gear and get some shit done. For instance, I want to possibly plan on going to some conventions, printing off nice copies of my best work and shoving them into art peoples' faces so maybe someone will take notice. I've had enough of being a bank teller.

So, other, not so depressing news: Halloween! I'm going to be Yuna from Final Fantasy X-2. Here's a pic if you don't know what the hell I'm talking about:

http://www.ffcompendium.com/art/x2-yuna-a.jpg

OBVIOUSLY I don't have the body to pull off the skankiness of some of the elements of her outfit, but I think I can manage making it look halfway decent. I ordered the costume from eBay; now I just gotta get me some of those ass-kickin boots and a necklace and I'll be good to go!

I'm having a LAN party at my house Nov.3-4; it outta be interesting! A few of my guildies I play WoW with are coming from out of state, so I really gotta get my house in some semblance of decent shape so they won't think Rory and I are weirdos.

Birth of a Blog

2007-08-22T00:17:00.000-04:00

So, I have no idea if this thing's gonna actually work, but we'll see! I figured it would be cool to put up a blog on my website so peeps can leave comments about my artwork. It'll prolly end up being all spam or all negative feedback, hah! Such is life.
Anyways, here's where I'll post mundane BS about life and my struggles in becoming a real artist. One year + after graduating college and still no art jobs ... it's what I expected, really. I can't complain too much; at least I have a job. That in itself here in Michigan is cause for celebration.
After a three month or so hiatus from drawing, I'm back in the biz, baby. Went back to my uber-project Tarot card set, but since my scanner and printer aren't hooked up yet, it'll be a bit longer before I can post anything here or on the website. My Mom's been telling me about etsy.com and how I should set up a store there, but the only thing I'm really good at is drawing; how the heck does one advertise that? And who wants fantasy illustrations anyways? I suppose it couldn't hurt to try. I've gotta get crackin on making a banner for there and stuff.

www.mandapandarawks.com