Monday, July 11, 2011

State of the Artist for 7/11/2011

View halloo, tweeples!!

It's Monday here on Planet Kit and it is time for another State of the Artist updates, so let's get started!


Weekly Words


If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, it's just possible you haven't grasped the situation

- Jean Kerr (1923-2033)



Current Project

So, last weekend was the 4th of July, and I spent those 4 days attending Florida SuperCon in Miami. It could have been better as far as conventions go, but that seems to be the trend with this year's conventions, flagging art show/artist alley sales. Perhaps it is the still-flagging economy and lack of confidence in it's recovery, perhaps it is the continuing decrease in age of average con attendee and their inherent lack of money, perhaps it is that my art has outgrown the venues I usually frequent and need to find a new audience... or, perhaps it is a combination of all three and many more.

Who knows.

That said, Florida SuperCon's lull in sales did give me the opportunity to sketch while sitting at my table, and I found myself drawn back to the new of the Lofty Pursuits, that delightful steampunk airship brothel commanded by one Madame Scarlett.




The first of the new additions to the Lofty Pursuits. She is the Eastern Star, and I'm pretty sure the character design for her is done... now, it's just a matter of working out her personality and her backstory.

* * *



With some tweaking, since I'm not entirely happy with how childish, rather than childlike, she came out, this will probably end up being the ship's chief engineer.

* * *



I've had these two in mind for quite some time, but never was able to successfully translate them to paper. I'm not entirely sure I have yet, but this is close... they are a set of French twins who share their talents with their clients and take on any and all flavors. Needless to say, they're quite popular. :)

* * *



Another male courtesan for the traveling company, as I felt there should be at least two in such a varied and colorful crowd. I will probably add one more man to the roster before I come up with a few more women and then the crew that actually makes the Lofty Pursuits stay airborne. :)



From The Archive



Black Is Such A Forgiving Color
January 2004

Who is this young man and what has he done?

Someone at FSC kept coming back over the course of the convention to look at this piece, seemingly interested in taking him home, but it seems it was not meant to be. This is one of my favorite of my traditional media pieces, and I'd love to see him go to a good home one day.

No, it is not fanart of FFVI: Advent Children, but instead was completed years before Advent Children was released.

Original (Multimedia, A4 paper): $300
Prints (giclee, 8.5x11"): $12 / matted (11x14"): $20

Custom cut mat can be ordered for the original work for an additional $35

*Please note if interested*



Near Future

Well, this week sees me house/pet sitting for a good friend and learning all sorts of new things about taking care of a dog on a daily basis. I have to say, it's a good thing her dog isn't any bigger, as he walks ME when we go out as it is! Good thing I didn't bring rollerblades....

There's a couple of projects up in the air for me right now, so we'll have to see what becomes of them.

I'll be leaving for Virginia/DC on the 21st of July and staying until it's time to head to Baltimore on the 28th for Otakon. I will have a table in Artist Alley at Otakon and will have a wide variety of prints and originals, as well as taking at-conventions commissions. If you'll be attending the convention, come by and say HI! :)


Thank you for joining me for another State Of The Artist update and I look forward to your comments!


If you enjoy seeing posts of new or in-progress artwork, please consider a donation.


Become a patron of the arts!









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Monday, May 23, 2011

State of the Artist for 5/23/2011

View halloo, peoples!

It's Monday, and that means time for another State of the Artist update!

I'm so sorry I hadn't updated this! I didn't even notice it had gotten to be a month since I posted anything here... bad, Kit! I will definitely try to do better about remembering to update here as I'm really new to Blogger!


Weekly Words

We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery.
- H. G. Wells, 1866 - 1946


Current Project




As promised last week, the full color, traditional media originals of Rhys and Mina from Meljean Brooks' The Iron Duke!

First up: Rhys Trahaearn



Like Archimedes and Yasmeen last week, the final image for the card will be digitally aged and textured, along with the addition of text in the banner, in Photoshop to allow for any needed manipulation by the publisher for the final image.

I really like how Rhys ended up coming out. I think it's the messy, rakish hair and big arms. :)

* * *

Next up: Mina Wentworth



And the proper, but imminently prepared, Mina rounds out the final four commissioned images for this project! And, of course, it's all about the hair!

I love how Meljean's female adventurers actually DRESS like adventurers (well, minus Mina's butt ruffle, but that's too cute for words and I'd wear one!) They wear PANTS and cover their skin, unlike some who have their women running around in the skimpiest of costumes that wouldn't stand up to a malfunctioning sprinkler, let alone running all over the world, kicking ass and taking names.

* * *

Next week, I'll post the final card images after adding texture and proper aging to give them all that "long-lost advert" feel.

* * *

From The Archive



Royal Tiger
Completed: September 2007

This was originally intended to be one of a series of 4 based on the Four Guardian Spirits: Byakko (tiger/west,) Genbu (tortoise/north,) Suzaku (phoenix/south,) and Seiryuu (dragon/east.) Like many of my planned series, that just didn't happen, and it's rather a bit of a stretch in terms of license, as Byakko is a white tiger.

I'll probably end up coming back to this concept at a later date, as I like the idea of series (if you couldn't tell -*laugh*!) but, in order for them to be cohesive, they really need to be completed (or at least sketched and roughed out) around the same time, as I've noticed my style evolves and changes rather rapidly as I embrace influences and explore the impact, mood, and stylistic themes I want my art to bring to bear.

I've always loved the Art Nouveau aesthetic, and it has always been an influence in my artwork, and I certainly see that continuing, but it is definitely flavored with my love of both American comics and manga.


Original: N/A
Prints (8x10" giclee): $12

*Please note me if interested*



Near Future

I'll be tidying up and aging all the Steampunk Trading Card project images and making sure they're ready for printing, so those will be posted next Monday, along with the initial offering of the originals for the 4 traditional media pieces for sale, so stay tuned for that!

Up next, I've got artwork appearing at:

A-Kon Dallas, TX June 10-12

I will be attending:

MetroCon Tampa, FL June 17-19

and

Florida SuperCon Miami, FL July 1-4


If you'll be in the neighborhood for any of these conventions and would like to check out my art or stop by for a commission or just to say hi, feel free to pop in to the art shows or stop by my table in the Artist Alleys!

Also, should be opening up online commissions again within a few weeks, so many thanks to the many people who've been so patiently waiting for the commission post!


* * *


Thank you all for joining me for another State of the Artist post! As always, feel free to leave comments to this, or any other post here.

If you have any suggestions for things you might like to see in upcoming State of the Artist posts, please let me know!



If you enjoy seeing posts of new or in-progress artwork, please consider a donation.


Become a patron of the arts!









Feel free to post links to this journal/community if you feel there might be interest in my artwork!

Monday, April 25, 2011

State of the Artist for 4/25/2011

View halloo, lovely peoples!

It's Monday, and that means it's time for another State Of The Artist update! So, let's get started...


Weekly Words

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap.....but by the seeds that you PLANT.
- Robert Louis Stevenson 1850-1894

Spread your love and your soul around, it will be returned to you in spades by the people that you meet. Some come into our lives for a moment, some for a while, and others for a lifetime. From each we learn something new, about life, love, others, and ourselves.




Current Project

This week's post for the current project is more of the Steampunk Romance Trading Card project working with author, and lovely lady, Meljean Brook.

Today's post is the final, approved inks for all four of the commissioned characters from her novels "The Iron Duke" and "Heart of Steel." Over the last few weeks, you've seen the rough sketches for the characters and the backgrounds, now I've put them all together!

First up: "The Iron Duke" characters.

Rhys:



* * *

Mina:



* * *

Now, the "Heart of Steel" duo!

Archimedes:



* * *

Yasmeen:





Next up, color roughs and then work on the originals! Heading into the home stretch on the project, and I'm quite excited!

* * *


From the Archive


Forest Throne
September 2006



A mysterious young figure holds court deep in the forest. Watch where you stray, for dangers in the guise of delight hide where the sun dapples the forest floor.


Original (9x12", graphite): $150
Prints (8x10" giclee): $12

*Please note if interested*




Near Future

My current agenda is full of the rest of the Steampunk Romance Trading Card project and gearing up for mail-in conventions and then preparing for attending the summer conventions starting in June.

Once the Steampunk Romance Trading Card project has been completed, I'll be opening up online commissions. So, thank you so much to those of you who have asked about commission slots in the near future! I will definitely be posting here when I open up commission ots again, so stay tuned for that announcement!


Thank you for joining me in this week's State Of The Artist post! Feel free to leave comments to this, or any other post, LiveJournal membership is not required to comment. I hope you'll join me again for next week's update!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Day one and welcome!

View halloo, all! This post is just a placeholder at the moment until I work up some design and content ideas. Please be patient with me as I am brand new to the whole blogspot universe.....