3.11.13 three eleven three!!

Hey, guys!
So, this week I've been focused more on "Phantom of the Opera" which is always fun for me! The scene I've decided to focus on is the Masquerade on the Grand Escalier.  I'm also working on that part of the script so I will be posting some layouts of pages soon--swoon, Phantom Lovers--it's going to be amazing!  And I'm not worried at all about living up to that statement, FYI--in fact go ahead and get your hopes up--they will be rewarded.
  So this last week I've been working on a conceptual image for this scene that I will be able to use as reference as I go on to finish the pages for the graphic novel.  This image, as you can see, is really complex and, once again, I wondered if I had gotten in over my head but, as it turns out, all my obsessive drawing of the Paris Opera House pays off, again.  I am so close to being able to accurately draw that place without a reference--from multiple angles, too!  That's going to make drawing this graphic novel WAY easier.
 Now, on to the art!

This looks better in real life--it's a two-page spread in my sketchbook.  At first this was going to be very centered on Raoul and Christine but then I decided the focus more on the vastness of the space around them and the craziness of the crowd.

As you can see I decided to make this a taller format--have you taken a close look at the paintings on the ceiling? There is some crazy stuff going on up there!

The final black lines.  I gotta be honest, I hate how this looks right now.  I can't put any value in the image at this point because the color is going to doing all of that but the value is a really important part of the composition so it's just not working for me right now--it's just a jumble of lines!! I will get to coloring ASAP--I can't live like this!!!

SO!  I have a lot of work ahead of me and I'm going to take my time on this--but hey!  did you notice I threw a little self-portrait in there--"Where's Waldo style?"  I posed myself like how I always pose in photos--so happy hunting!

This is a fun thing I did a couple of weeks ago:  a commission for a portrait of a fabulous doggy who died not too long ago.  He loved the water the most so I put him in the water--he was a really good dog!  At first I was worried about capturing the right feeling because he was such a good and special doggy but when I sat down to draw, the final image came immediately and felt perfect right away--just like it was always meant to be!  It's such an amazing experience when it isn't at all a struggle, you know what I mean?  (:

Awwww!!!  Kirby!!  what a cutie!

Why don't I do things like this for my own pets??  Next on the  to-do list!

I'm so pleased with this image and FYI, Kirby's people loved it, too--I believe there were some tears, even!  That's the best reaction you can get so I'm very pleased.  I think I get to have an extra treat this week as a reward.  That would be a fun day of skiing, normally, but, alas!  the snow is already on it's way out. :-(  I don't think anything it quite as much fun as skiing...maybe I should take up sky-diving??  I obviously need to move to either Colorado or Switzerland.

Well, now, I am going to get back to work--then I'm going to do some yoga--I can do a head-stand now and I find that being upside-down as much as possible seems to be the key to happiness--at least for weirdo artsy types like myself--but I'm sure it's true for everyone, even the left-brained people!
TRY IT--you'll be like, "thanks for telling me about that, Beckaroo, my life is so much happier now!"
You are so welcome, as always!
Till next time, internet friends!
--Beckarooo!