Secret Agent Man!

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I really need to get back in the swing of things. I don't know why, I hit a slump for a while there and only recently "rediscovered my balls" so to speak. It took a while to tease the creativity out again, it started with helping other people with character development. Then I started taking a new look at my own characters, and next thing I know I'm writing short stories and participating in online groups. Go figure.

To the right we see Mr. Maness, the man of many talents, as one of his characters. The original image is from the pilot episode album for "Keeping the Faith." He's been in productions such as "The Reindeer Monologues," "The Cleveland Cemetery Tour," and "You Can't Take It With You." He has a habit of using fancy descriptors for otherwise boring colours, but I don't hold it against him. I also like to tease him.
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Frontpage Action!

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Following my last post where I unexpectedly won entry into the October Design Gallery on ArtBistro, I received an email today where I was informed that I am currently being displayed on the front page with the other winners. I took a screen capture so I could treasure the moment forever. It has my name up there and everything, just like a real artist. Vincent is glowering at the links on the left, greeting people on the main page.

Above we see the magical rainbow unicorn, a revamp of an older t-shirt design from college, back when rainbow farting unicorns were both witty and rare.
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ArtBistro October Winner!

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I've been on hiatus for the past week so I could get my creative juices flowing again. It came as a big surprise to me when I checked my inbox and discovered that I was chosen as a winner for the October Design Gallery on ArtBistro.

"This album represents excellent level of professionalism that ArtBistro members exhibit in their art work. Congratulations to all the winners!"

I didn't know that anyone actually looked at my work on that website, but I'm pleased nonetheless. Interestingly enough, it was the illustration of Miss Kinash's character, Vincent. His dashing good looks and upbeat attitude save the day again.

The picture to the right is completely unrelated, an art trade with Mr. Kyle Bishop. He requested that I do a portrait of him, and he would do one of me. Still waiting on that, but I had been planning on doing a portrait of him anyway.
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Art Show

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Tonight I am going with friends to Andrew Noel's art show at a winery on Bainbridge Island. Last time I saw his work, it was impressionistic and full of colour. We still talk about the "fourth dimensional bubble" incident. I can only wonder what he has been doing for the past year, and how much he has improved on his style.

Lately I have been swamped with the amount of work I have to do, but I'm not complaining! I have almost finished up adding the text and information to the album cover for Grape Juice. I knocked out most of the hard work on a private illustration for another friend, and after that I'll begin work on the single-strand text for Ben Masters' business card. I think I hear my ride, so I'm cutting this short.
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Breasterits

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I was having an online conversation with Ben Masters about how much artists will charge, and how much people will pay for relatively simple paintings such as abstract impressionism. Not that I do not like abstract impressionism, but aren't people tired of paying $6,000 for a painting that could be made with a Spirograph and a willing elementary student?

"Maybe I should use my breasts to paint a picture, and then attach a huge price tag to it."

Mr. Masters seemed supportive of the idea [pun intended] so I think I may go through with it. People like big canvases, they like good colour combinations, and most of all they like breasts. So I am going to dig out one of my old giant-sized canvases from before I quit painting and go to work on it. At the very least it will be a temporary amusement that should elicit a few laughs at the next pARTy I attend.

To the right we see "Tulip"a genital painting by the talented Stephen Murmer.
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Coming Soon!

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With all the the digital portraits, or iDents as I grudgingly call them, being proudly displayed on my friend's social networking pages, I have started the grueling process of coding a website from scratch. I have also started researching possible advertising methods other than word-of-mouth to get my artwork seen, sought, and bought.

Already I have had three requests for commissions that have popped up since the weekend, two being portrait commissions, the other is typography work for a business card. That's not counting the requests for trades and giftart that have started trickling into my inbox. With my low-low prices and meticulous attention to detail, I'm sure that this enterprise will start reaching new heights.
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Temporary Hibernation

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I haven't updated in a couple of days due to a combination of losing track of my schedule, and going to a party hosted by Mr. Draper. It was fairly interesting, getting to see people that I had not seen in years, as well as a handful from the NCA crowd. Funny how often the KSS and NCA lines cross like that. Either way, we discovered that Mr. Draper does an excellent Dr. Girlfriend impression.

To the right is a poster I've been playing around with for a while. Note that there are a lot of anatomical exaggerations going on, but that's what makes it fun. I did not include the second "wing" because it made the image a lot more visually confusing. I think the clouds are a pretty nice touch. I'm thinking about going back and touching some things up, but we'll see how it looks in its skateboard incarnation.
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Inkwurk II - In Living Colour

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It has been yet another productive day of inking Miss Kinash's wonderful sketches. Today I woke up at a decent hour, began an inking project, finished the one to the right, and was also added to the link list by Toxiferous Designs. A link to the blog will henceforth be located to the left, in the blogroll. Click it, you know you want to.

After inking the first sketch of Olivia, I recalled that I had started inking this some months ago and had not finished it for some reason. This is because I did not have the organizational skills I have nowadays. Against all logic and reason, I had everything on one layer. This was before I realized that having fills on an individual layer was a lot easier and better looking than having adjusted strokes lurking just below the surface.

As for the question of Olivia's colour theme, Miss Kinash mentioned that she has "imagined her in sages and oranges a couple times." With this in mind I stuck with the dark blue linework, and went with a light brown with red-orange trim. This is because Olivia is in a more 'conservative' outfit than her usual flapper fare, so I imagine that when she is planning on going out, her clothing brightens up substantially.
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Veni, Vidi, Vincent

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The title does not make any sense, but neither does this day. I made friends with Dr. Malison, got the last of my fillings done, was featured in a journal by a 14-year-old, and also had a tooth pulled. All in all, a fairly productive day despite only completing one drawing. I thought the journal feature was really sweet, and any free advertisement is good advertisement.

At the right is Vincent, and he's not a very nice man. Each of the characters has an individual characteristic which is exaggerated. With Olivia it is her eyelashes and curlicue hair. With Vincent it is his very distinctive upper lip, which is sometimes mistaken for a mustache, especially when I draw it. He is also missing his left hand, but we all know that already.

I do not draw him often enough.
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Inkwurk

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After getting all that practice in with my digital portraits, or "iDents" as my mom calls them, I tried inking one of Miss Kinash's sketches. I think it turned out pretty well, but final judgment is reserved for Briana. I did not colour in the clothing like I usually do because I am not sure what Olivia's colour theme is, or if she even has one.

I played around a bit with special strokes laid along paths, to try and recreate the long beaded necklaces without having to resort to individually "stringing" circles onto a path. I think I may be able to eventually create a stroke that can go from small to large circles, kind of like how I sometimes create textures, but I have not figured it out yet.

Either way, I have been collecting up sketches that have to do with the comic project for a while now, and am going to digitally ink and compile them into character sheets or something of the like.
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A Modest Proposal

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I am a big fan of good sculpture, mostly because I am so terrible at it. I am amazed that there are people out there that can think of something, let the idea gestate for a while, and then create something so realistic or out of this world that you can not help but stand and gawk in amazement.

Case in point, Beth Cavener Stichter, who creates wonderful sculptures that are simultaneously enthralling and disturbing to behold. "The sculptures I create focus on human psychology - stripped of context and rationalization, and articulated through animal and human forms."

Be sure to check out the nonplussed expression on the rabbit that is being humped in the "Modest Proposal" gallery.
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Character Development

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Not too long ago, I posted a sketch of a character that I am in the process of refining. Since I am trying to keep up with my self-imposed rule of one piece of artwork a day, I went ahead and applied what I learned from my ongoing portrait project to this sketch. What you see at the right is the result of a "quick" inking and application of flat colours. He looks almost sad in comparison to the original sketch, but I'm still content with it.

That's Bernard, and I have not decided on a last name for him yet, if I do decide to give him one. His skin isn't just gray due to the background of this picture. I have been toying around with the idea of Bernard having some sort of circulatory problem from living and working in high altitudes, which makes his skin appear blueish-gray rather than ruddy.

The insignia on his hat is a possible idea for what the Yukon Confederate flag may look like. Seeing as how the Yukons are a British based society, I borrowed a proposed version of the Union Jack from the 1700's, and replaced the Welsh Dragon in the center with a heraldic raven. In the real world, the common raven is the official bird of the Yukon territory.
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Artistic Vision

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A lot of people have crawled out of the woodwork lately and have offered kind praise about my work. This pleases me, as I have felt that digital work is often overshadowed by the fine art community. Digital work is still work, and requires just as much skill as rendering in charcoal or paint. A traditional artist can point out the thousands of badly rendered digital pieces, but a digital artist can do the same just as easily. It's not about the artistic medium, or what tools are used, it's about technical skill, good composition, and artistic vision.

I do two kinds of work in relation to art. The first would be art that is intended for other people, such as commissions, requests, and gifts. The second would be art that I do for myself, my illustrations, sketches, and practice pieces. The digital portraits that I have been doing lately seem to fall between the two categories I have created for myself. While I create them for my own artistic betterment and enjoyment, they are at their core, portraits of other people, and are intended to be enjoyed by everyone.

Anyways, to the right we see Friendlings Redux. I thought the picture was too adorable to pass up, so after I asked the photographer's permission, I did a digital recreation of it. This marks the first occasion in which I have worked on a portrait for someone I have never met in person.
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Fight, Mikus, Fight!

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This week has been oddly successful in regards to artistic pursuits, maybe it's just the weather. Anique Zimmer and Briana Kinash, two great illustrators and friends, have made their blogs known to me. They can be found in the blogroll at the left along with Ms. Nicole Gelinas, another very talented artist.

To the right is a commissioned illustration piece I have been working on for a couple of weeks now for DJ Grape Juice's upcoming album, "Fight, Mikus, Fight!" Enjoi!
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The Cat Piano

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Had a wonderful time hanging out with my friends Anique and Briana yesterday. I can't say that we accomplished any grand tasks, but we did eat sandwiches and watch The Cat Piano. It reminds me a great deal of Lackadaisy Cats, both stylistically and thematically, but the two are naturally very different.

Anique helped me flesh out the design for one of my characters, Bernard, who is a gentleman that hails from the Yukon Confederacy and is the Captain of the St. Elmo's Fire. I explained the character and an overview of what he looked like to Anique, and she did a rough sketch which I worked off of to create the sketch at the right.

Thanks again, Anique!
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Skate Decks

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It has been quite an exciting week, but it looks as though things are slowly returning back to normal. Later today, I have a two-hour long dental appointment that I have been looking forward to. After that I am kind of wishing that we do not run all over the place because I really need to spend a couple of days at home so I can get back into my work routine and send more emails so that I can get a few paid gigs.

In the meantime, I have been working on a website hub that the other art, social, and blogging websites can attach to. On that subject, I have started submitting skateboard designs to various places and have a website for that very purpose. I am still getting the hang of it, but in a week or so it'll seem like I've always been doing it.

Please visit my store!
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Back to School?

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Earlier in the week I had promised Briana that I would accompany her to Evergreen State College, and didn't know that yesterday was the day that the trip would take place. She got a hold of me through Facebook of all places, and about 30 minutes after she contacted me, we were on our way to Olympia. It was a wonderful trip for the most part, and she suggested that instead of joining the Army, perhaps I should go back to college and pick up another degree. If I somehow manage to get my already existing loans in order, I might return to college to pick up a second Bachelor's degree in something a little bit more lucrative than art.

I was very delighted to see that there was an illustration for me waiting in my inbox, from my former college roommate nonetheless. She was a legend in our graduating class, and will no doubt go on to create something amazing. This is the first example of art I've seen from her in months, so maybe she'll start producing other things for the world to see.
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Graduation

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The former underclassmen are graduating today as seniors, having somehow overcome all the hurdles NCA could throw at them. Some of the alumni are traveling out to where the ceremony is being held to see off our friends before they depart for their various home states. Even Steve is flying up from Arizona for the last time, due to this class being the last class he was familiar with.

Due to this I felt all nostalgic and have decided to post a close-up of a skateboard engraving from around the time I graduated last September.
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Recovery

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My aunt called at 6 in the morning and it turns out that there is some heart blockage, and she had her surgery. She'll be on her way back from Somewhere, NC this weekend, and she has to visit her doctor when she gets back to her home in Detroit. She says she's fine though, and we're all relieved on this end.

On the right is a portrait of my college roommate, Miss Curry, dressed up as Zorro. "My sister informed me that a costume was a prerequisite for Halloween."

It's also an experiment in using gradients properly, which is why there is no background.
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Angioplasty

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My aunt called up and apparently has had an episode when on a visit to North Carolina. She's in the hospital right now, and is going to have an angioplasty. She says she's going to be fine, but we're all a little bit worried.

As for the illustration, it's a portrait of Miss Kinash and myself from when we were young and full of beans. What's odd is that it feels like it was ages ago, but it's only been a couple of years. Either way, I'm the one in the hat with the big ears.
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Explosm

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Now that I have been diligently updating my Facebook whenever I create a new digital portrait or illustration, I am dedicating this blog to sharing my art without being perforated by random videos and comments. Updates should occur every other day, or whenever I complete a new piece.

In the meantime, here's a portrait illustration I did for an old friend's birthday yesterday.
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