Initial Thoughts on the Wacom Inkling

Well, I suppose I shouldn't be too critical since I've only tried the Inkling once. (Today; it was a Christmas present from my amazing in-laws, but since it's been on back order, I only just got it this past weekend.)  But here are my initial thoughts on using it so far.
It's relatively easy to figure out how to start using it, which is nice.  The Inkling takes normal ball-point pen cartridges, which will be cheap to replace.  I noticed that it didn't start picking up my lines until well after I had started inking, so I had to go back and re-draw some spots.  It also imported some of my spots a little wonky; I was drawing a super-hero type commission and the dude's face ended up all kinds of messed up, so I had to re-draw a lot of that in Photoshop.  I'm used to using Microns to ink with, which is a really nice, warm black, and the ball-point pen is more purple-blue black, so that was a real shocker.  (Nothing a little Photoshop tweaking can't fix.)  It also doesn't like it when you draw past what seems to be it's threshold of letter-sized paper.  The Inkling would be perfect for something smaller, but not so much any big projects on bigger paper.  (Granted, I haven't tested putting the receiver on the side as opposed to the top of the paper.)  I found out the hard way that if you move the receiver mid-drawing, it starts it as a new sketch, so the last few bits of sketch didn't end up on the right file. 
Overall, my first impressions of the Inkling are that it takes some tweaking and it isn't worth the $200 price tag.  At least, not yet!  I plan on using it more to get used to it; I haven't given up on you, Inkling!  Here's a preview of what my first attempt at Inkling drawing looks like:

A Lengthy Endeavor

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!

I'm done!

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 ...?

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!

Heroes of the Jade Oath

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 ...

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

Next batch of cards

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!

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

Rupert

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!