02.25.13 More Heroic Art!

Hello, again!
Well, it looks like February, 2013 is pretty much over.  Which is fine--being from MN, I have to say February is not my favorite month...April is!) BUT! I got a lot of work done this month on "Hero's Journey," as I'm sure you are aware if you read this blog--and that always makes me happy!  Howver, now I'm going to take a break and focus on "Phantom of the Opera"  for a little while--just a short while--till then, here is a glimpse of what I've been working on:

First, an image of Ondine: she is a demi-goddess who is trapped in that tree! She's not very happy about it. She acts as the "magical helper" and also calls Hero to his quest.  What a helpful magical friend!

Here is another Valentine image for Orehn, the "shadow-self".  I didn't intend for this to be another Valentine but he was making that heart-shape and it just seemed so right.  I think this image captures his overall grumpiness quite well.  He's a surly guy.

Now here's an image of Hero as a hero!  This is the special armor that Demeter gives him toward the end of the book.  He can fly with those shoes!

And here is a sketch for an image of Sayid, the "side-kick" playing his magic flute:

And speaking of Sayid, I've been working a lot on developing the look and feel of his kingdom.  It is a very rich and artful culture but a culture with a lot of class inequities which he would like to change when he becomes King.  He's such a forward-thinking guy.  Here are some sketches for his kingdom:

I can't wait to get to this part of the book because I'm going to going to have a lot of fun with all the architecture and patterns and fabrics, textures and colors--OMG, I can't wait!!. :-D

Well, thanks, again for visiting my studio!  you are always welcome. (:

But, I think I've been working a little too hard this month and now it's time for a nap.  But check back next week for more art from me, Beckaroo! 

(You love it!)

Till next time!

--Beckarooo

2.18.13 Another process post!

Hello out there!
This weekend I got a lot of work done on "Hero's Journey" which is wonderful!
  As you may already know, I started a Tumblr page for Hero:  http://herosjourneycomic.tumblr.com
I haven't posted much, yet, because I just started it-- but just watch as it grows!  I have a lot of little images in mind to throw up there to educate everyone about the book, Joseph Campbell and the hero's quest mono-myth!  So go ahead and check it out.

Now, on to the art...

I got so much work done this weekend and that always makes me happy.  I decided to make some solid illustrations of the characters to get their colors down and to be more comfortable all around because practice is always a good thing for artists.  Here is the image I designed for Sayid, the Side Kick.  He is a prince of a very powerful kingdom which is known for their fine fabrics and rich culture. I thought he should be showing that off in this image.
Here's the initial sketch:

This sketch is about 2" by 3"

Here is the final drawing that I used for the final line drawing.

Now, here are the final inked lines....

....AND the final image!  Actually this is about 98% done.  I have a few little clean-up things to do so don't look too close!

Sayid is not your average prince--he's had to make his own way in the world so he's more well-rounded than you would initially think.  He's also quite a talented musician, FYI....
Well, as stated earlier to see more "Hero's Journey" stuff go to http://herosjourneycomic.tumblr.com

As always, a week cannot go by without me drawing something in the Paris Opera House!  I'm working on the Grand Escalier for my next image from that world and these two drawings are the winners for the week--hope you like them!

I love how the curved lines interact with the straight lines behind them.   Don't you just want to walk up those stairs??

Here is one of the sculptural candelabrum.  These ladies have some serious arm muscles...I'm a little jealous. (:

Well, I'm on a roll and so I'm going right back to work!
But before you go here is some Sock Monkey Love for you:

Sock Monkey BFFs

Want more Sock Monkeys?  Check out http://sockmonkeycouture.tumblr.com
Thanks for visiting my studio!  Come back next week for another peek at all the work I'm doing.
Till next time, be well, my friends!
--Beckarooooo!

2.14.13 Happy Valen-Times!!!

Well, hello there!
It's Valentine's Day and in the spirit of heart shapes, chocolates and the colors red, pink and lavender, I bring you these "Hero's Journey" Valentines:

These ones didn't make the cut but I still think they are cute.

As you may have noticed from the web address on the bottom of the image I started a Tumblr page for "Hero's  Journey".  It's going to be full of images and descriptions of the characters--all kinds of info about the book.  I will be updating it every Thursday.  This way you can learn more about Hero's world and it's a pretty awesome place.  Lots of crazy stuff can happen there.

Moving on ... last week I showed you sketches for 2 illustrations I'm working on for Hero's Journey.  Here they are now fully inked. ....I'm pretty happy with them.  Check it out:

Sigh....so sad.  So pretty.

Sayid, the Side Kick and Prince of the Kingdom by the Sea.

Here is something I'm really proud of!  Check out that chandelier--and everything else.  Honestly, a drawing or painting or whatever of the Paris Opera House can't help but be amazing.

Sublime.  Now I need to come up with the perfect title.

When I've completed this image I will post a lot of the sketches I did to lead up to it...so, so many.  My next Paris Opera House Illustration will be of the Grand Escalier. I haven't decided what's going to go on there yet so I have some thinking to do.

Now I'm changing the subject entirely!  I love to make Sock Monkeys and for proof of this if you scroll WAY back to the beginning of this blog you will see some of my older sock monkey comics.  Long story short--I started a Tumblr full of Sock Monkey photos--because they are so fun to take pictures of!
For example:

Thoughtful Monkey

Sock Monkeys.  Lots of Sock Monkeys.

What can I say?  Sock Monkeys make everyone smile.  (:   Here's a link to the Tumblr:  

sockmonkeycouture.tumblr.com

People seem to like it--and who doesn't like a sock monkey??  Is that possible?  

Well!  This has been a fantastic and wonderful Valentine's Day post!  But now I'm afraid I must depart.  I'm about to go ski until they kick me out. Don't worry, I'll be polite when it happens. (:

Have a loverly day, friends and thanks for the visit!

More next week!

--Beckarooo

02.04.13 A New Post for the New Year...Finally!

Hello!
Welcome back to my blog!  I skipped the month of January because I got that really bad flu and it was really bad. For real. So I took some time off--like coma time, I was mostly unconscious for the month of January--but now I'm back and healthy and I will start this year with some sketches because this is the time of year for planning.  Pretty soon I'm going to get bogged down with coloring books and posters and actual final pieces that must be produced.  ...which I love :-D
  I will start with some "Phantom of the Opera" sketches because wow!  you guys out there really like it--thanks!!  Here's the finally final sketch for the image of Christine on stage:

It's finally reached "I'm happy with it" status!  Soon it will  be inked and colored  and sooooo pretty.  (:

  The next image I'm working on for "Phantom of the Opera" is a scene of Erik and Christine in the cellars.  I'm just trying to get a feel for the lighting  at this point so these sketches are pretty sloppy but I think the image idea comes across strongly...

I love the Phantom but he's really such a creep sometimes.

   I like working on "Phantom of the Opera" as a side project to "Hero's Journey" because it's darker and it calls for a more detailed style that challenges me, artistically.  I love Hero but it's like eating too much ice cream sometimes.  I hope that makes sense to you because it's the best way I can think to describe it. Speaking of Hero...
  I've also been making a lot of progress on "Hero's Journey."  I have the script mostly completed now so I've started to work on the pages.  I just finished sketching out a montage/back-story sequence and even though I find those scenes annoying to draw people tell me I'm good at it ... I'll let you be the judge.  (:

Since Ondine is a water nymph I tried to make the composition very wave-like.  Also water is representative of emotion and look at Ondine--she's so sad.  ):

I actually really love that last image--so much so that I decided to make a conceptual image of it for Ondine.  I'm working on a few conceptual images for "Hero's Journey."  Here's a peek at some of them:

SIGH!!  poor Ondine!  She's been through a really rough time.

I'm really liking this image of Sayid, the Giraffe!  It's going to be super pretty when it's done. 

Last, but not least, I thought I'd share this final image of my little friends Helen and Adam.  I made this for their parents for X-Mas.  I think it turned out great!  I love it and their parents did, too. And so did Helen--and she's who I was really trying to please. (:

  So, as you can see, even though I sometimes forget to post or maybe I lose interest in the blog for a while (Sorry!)  I am always working on something and I will always eventually post something!  So rest assured if you don't hear from me, it's because I'm working too much.  And speaking of that I have to get going--there's only so much time in a day and I have a mountain of work ahead of me.  

  Thanks again for visiting--more next week!  

Beckaroooooo!!