Paint Berry

Oh My!

2011-06-17T13:13:00.000-04:00

I haven't blogged in ages!!! But I found this adorable pic over at http://fyeahqueervintage.tumblr.com/ while browsing the internets for inspiration. I really wanted to share it. Enjoy!

SvD: Christmas hasn't left yet.

2011-01-22T18:11:00.003-05:00

December is never a very productive month for me when it comes to work, but once January rolls around, it's time to start fresh. I've been spending a lot of my time working on layouts and designs for two comics, one of which, is Santa versus Dracula.

I don't want to go into detail at the moment but I'm working on finished pages for one particular scene. Since I'm starting with page 107, I had to work out a lot of things so I wouldn't have to go back and change these pages in the future.

This page here is a shot of Santa's "Headquarters", as I like to call it.

Happy New Year!

Angel of Doom

2010-12-14T22:20:00.004-05:00

I drew this pic a few years ago and I never got around to finishing it. It was half inked when I picked it up again the other day. I inked it over and colored in. Didn't focus much on the background, just focused on the lighting and color.

Playboy artist Doug Sneyd

2010-12-06T13:14:00.007-05:00

I had the pleasure of meeting Doug Sneyd at the NY Comic Con this past October. With a purchase of his Unpublished book, I got to have my face drawn in the book by Doug himself. =) =)

We had a pleasant conversation while I sat there and he drew me. Such a nice guy. He even drew the Playboy bunny ears on me. (Also heard he would draw boobies on request, lol)

Santa vs Dracula: Debbie Design 1

2010-12-04T22:08:00.004-05:00

Little miss Debbie wants to be a vampire. She's one of the original characters in the comic.

Rainy Day version 2

2010-12-03T21:15:00.002-05:00

The top image has the original shadows, but I like the image without it too. O__o

Rainy Day version 1

2010-12-03T21:01:00.005-05:00

I was working on this image for a while. After taking a few months break, I finally went back to it but for some reason, out of all things, I had a hard time with her shadows. =/

I might go back and work with it some more so I'll be posting again soon.

Hot Painting!

2010-12-01T15:56:00.005-05:00

Yup, this is a true story. This little incident happened a few years ago and I always thought it was funny. I decided to make it a single panel comic inspired by the comics Playboy publish.

I also included a close up because I work larger than the final size of the image I post, so a lot of detail go unnoticed. Well, I think it goes unnoticed, like the sweat drops on my friends back. (Yes, I'm the one with a shirt on.) =P

Santa and Dracula designs

2010-11-15T15:44:00.003-05:00

So, here's Santa versus Dracula again. It's been a while but the project is going forward. More details soon, but in the meantime I've been redesigning the main two characters. Santa is redesigned to be a bit softer and more jolly. Dracula didn't change too much other than the color of his clothes and his character being a bit darker.

Any more changes and the animation will be completely different!

Lurking in the dark

2010-10-28T18:38:00.004-04:00

Guess I've been in a Halloween mood. I had a specific image in my head but it wasn't easy to get on paper. Took me a while to get the look I wanted. The creature had arms at one point but it wasn't helping the illustration, so I removed them. Yup. Much better.

Sokora Refugees Volume 3: Blix

2010-10-18T14:50:00.005-04:00

Yeah, it's been a long time since I actually drew this picture. It was back when I was actually working on Sokora Vol.3. The succubus, Blix (that's her name) was going to be featured in vol.3. She was a design I really liked, so I always wanted to go back and make her a full illustration. I started coloring it a few months ago, but it got out of hand for me. I went back to it a few days ago, organized my layers and finished it right up. This one, I'm happy with.

Halloween Girl

2010-10-13T11:11:00.006-04:00

I sat to draw and this happened. Made it a Halloween theme and broke it down into the steps on how I develop a picture. The entire image was drawn on the computer using a Wacom Tablet and Paint Tool Sai.

I start with little rough thumbnails to see if the picture will interest me in continuing.

If I like it, I zoom in and add a some detail, developing the character a bit more.

Liking where it's going I take the small sketch and enlarge it. Now I do rough clean up, working out finer details. At this point I start thinking about colors. Since her bloomers look like a pumpkin, I'll stick with the typical orange and black Halloween themed colors.

Once I get the inks, I'll make changes if necessary if certain lines don't make up or if angles seem off. This particular image worked out pretty well so i didn't spend too much time on it. From beginning to end, I think I spent about 4 hours working on this image.

I start the coloring only working with 3 layers. A flat base color, the shadows and a layer for highlights and added detail. Sometimes I'll add a 4th or 5th layer for tweaking, but I'll usually combine them and keep it at a minimum.

Usually when I get to the end of finishing a piece, I'll show it to someone to get opinions, for me its always dynamaito. Other artists might point out suggestions in color, composition and details. But its always the non-artist that gives the most interesting feedback, like "the body looks weird," or "I can't tell what's going on in the picture..." Never take offense, but always take it into consideration, it'll make you a better artist in the long run.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

2010-10-07T20:07:00.005-04:00

Everyone loves boobs! Whether its for a woman's pride, a man's attraction, a child's comfort, or an infant's nourishment, nobody wants anyone's breast to go the way of cancer. In my family, both of my grandmother's were breast cancer survivors.

This pic was done for the comic strip I illustrate, My Cage, (which will unfortunately have its last run on oct.31.) On October 10, 2010, all Sunday strips distributed by King Features Syndicate will be colored pink for breast cancer awareness month.

For more information, visit www.comicsgopink.com . You'll also be able to donate money to any breast cancer research organization of your choice!

Remember get those boobs checked early and if you don't have any, I'm sure you know someone who does.

It's a fight worth fighting for.

Peace!

Updates

2010-09-29T00:19:00.007-04:00

Okay, so I don't update as often as I like. These things do take time and its amazing how much gets in the way of my "catching up" time.

For one, Rapunzel is done! I'll update with that again once all the pages are up. Here's a panel to keep things interesting.

Second, my page on Estrigious has been revised as an online portfolio, so a lot of my work is a bit more organized.

Until next time! (I'll be catching up.)

Mel

Anniversary Strip

2010-08-14T15:23:00.002-04:00

Maybe it's the hot weather that makes it hard to keep up with work and such...Anyway, I made this little mini strip for my anniversary. A gift to my hubby. Thought I'd share it since it wasn't too personal. ;)

Santa vs Dracula designs: The Hunchback/Igor

2010-07-21T09:22:00.007-04:00

Santa vs Dracula is coming back. After working on the 8 page comic for Zuda and the the animated preview for Aniboom, Ed and myself are going to finally work on the entire story for SvD. In the last few weeks, I've drawn new character designs, drew up some mock covers and even did rough thumbnails for all 144 pages.

Here we have 2 designs for The Hunchback/Igor. I drew them as they might have been two different characters, but in the end, we stuck with one, The Hunchback with the unicycle. I figured since he was hunched over so much, he might need support, so I chose a unicycle peddled by his front arms. :p

More designs coming up!

...and we're back!

2010-07-19T14:28:00.005-04:00

It's been rough the last couple of weeks for various reasons, including the heat wave that keeps my laptop from running properly....but I'm back for a steady stream of updates!

Just yesterday the My Cage website was updated with new (and exciting) info! From now on, on a weekly basis we'll be featuring web exclusive strips that won't be printed in newspapers, or rather strips that were rejected because they couldn't get past the censorship.

Our Sunday strip also featured many characters from the webcomic community, so you can get links to the sites where the individual characters are featured in.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

Next update Wednesday!

Doctor Who?

2010-05-25T23:27:00.004-04:00

So I've been watching the new season of Doctor Who with Matt Smith. It's been okay so far and I'm still getting used to the new Doctor but I really miss David Tennant.

Sometimes TV shows and movies inspire the creativeness in oneself and well, lately I haven't able to indulge in hobbies, but when you mix Rob, Doctor Who, inspiration, and hobbies, you get something like this:

Rob, ("Dynamaito" over at chromaengine.com), always had a knack for video editing, something I've always enjoyed seeing from him. It was a hobby of his back in the old days when he used to do it with VCR's. O__O!! Nowadays he does it on PC with Vegas Video. Fun stuff! He used clips from the Doctor Who series with David Tennant and the song 'Ghost of You' by My Chemical Romance.

Anyway, I thought I'd share his video because I miss David Tennant and I enjoy watching Rob's videos. =)

Thinking Process

2010-05-15T18:15:00.003-04:00

Just a drawing I did to practice my line work and colors. I didn't think the whole illustration through, so I'm a little stuck now. I made two set of shadows and now that I have the flat colors down, I want to leave her flat. =/

I'm gonna work on the back ground outside her window. Maybe that'll help steer me into a direction for the rest of the illustration.

Computer Mice

2010-05-12T23:09:00.003-04:00

I swear, you think think idea would have been done to death but honestly I haven't found anything like it.

Okay, so I'm obsessed with figure design....I got this idea from 2 seconds of the movie Wall-e, where he gets tossed into a dumpster and computer mice scurry away. GENIUS! I totally want one but alas, nothing like it exists.

Anyway, I think it's safe to say I was influenced and came up with this design. Simple idea, but with modifications. I submit the design to Patch Together in hopes that, with enough votes, it could be make into a figure...so that I can own one myself.

So check it out, sign up and vote! =D

Greek Mythological creatures can be hot!

2010-04-24T02:55:00.004-04:00

I'm a big fan of figures so I became a member of Patch Together. You can submit designs and with enough votes get your design made into a figure! Joy~
They had a Greek Mythological creature challenge this month (assuming the idea came from Clash of the Titans...) and luckily I was planning on making some Greek Myth art. Whatever I had originally planned, I didn't draw or finish. So I made a new one.

This strange chic here is Megaera of the Furies. She's the one who represents jealousy and envy.

Anyway check her out on the site! I have a complete turnaround for her.

Space Comic Finale Part 8: Vampire Zombies in Space!

2010-04-21T17:14:00.004-04:00

We've finally reached the end and it was a fun ride! (At least for me it was!) The comic itself might not continue as I plan to work on other projects but it doesn't mean its the last you'll see of it.
As mentioned before the original pages are on display at the Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art until May 30th. Check the website for details!

Also, if you've missed the last bunch of strips, here they are for your convenience!
Vampire Zombies in Space
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

Space Comic Part 7

2010-04-12T15:14:00.002-04:00

Almost there!

An all new high

2010-04-02T03:07:00.004-04:00

My model kit addiction has brought me to an all new high. I believe it was Miss V who told me about this site, Patch Together, and immediately I was hook. I stalked the site for a while and though its still feels new to me I've tried submitting some of my art.

Basically, people post their designs and if enough people vote or show interest, the owners of the site make it into a figure. It's like heaven for me....

Anyway, the site is getting the creators to promote their stuff so here it is, my Cat-girl huntress Anya.

Space Comic Part 6

2010-03-31T16:23:00.004-04:00

The end is near. >=D

Space Comic Part 5

2010-03-24T02:05:00.002-04:00

Space Comic Part 4

2010-03-18T21:27:00.004-04:00

Don't forget to visit the NeoIntegrity Exhibit at MoCCA to see the original pages of my "Space Comic."

If you haven't read it yet, check out Part 1, Part2, and Part 3.

Enjoy!

NeoIntegrity at MoCCA

2010-03-10T22:07:00.004-05:00

Hello all,

I'm taking a brief break from my "Space Comic" to announce that it will be on view at NeoIntegrity: Comics Edition Exhibit at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art! Not only will my original comic pages be on display there, but so will many other popular artists! If you want to check out who will be there, all names are listed on MoCCA's website: http://www.moccany.com/

If you're in New York and want to check out the NeoIntegrity: Comics Edition Exhibit, here's the info:

Opening night will be on March 12, 2010 and will continue on to May 30th, 2010.

MoCCA is located at:

594 Broadway, Suite 401

(btwn. Houston and Prince)

New York, NY 10012

Tel. 212-254-3511

Hours: Tues-Sun 12pm-5pm

General Admission: $5

Children 12 and under: Free Admission

It's going to be great!! You won't regret it!

Hope you'll all make it!

xoxo

Space Comic Part 3

2010-03-02T15:52:00.002-05:00

Back for more? What's going on so far? This is Part 3 of my mysterious "Space Comic."

If you haven't read it from the beginning check out

Part 1

and

Part 2.

Enjoy!

Sprites and Pixel Art

2010-02-26T19:10:00.003-05:00

So I decided to try this "Pixel Art." Been hearing about its reemergence in the game industry for mobile games. Anyway, I sat down (approximately 5 hours), and pixel drew an old character of mine. Yes, pixel by pixel. Though it took a few hours I found it to be very fun! The only thing is, the sprite is small. ^__^

Space Comic Part 2

2010-02-23T20:36:00.003-05:00

Hey all, back for some more space story? Here continues Part 2 of my Space Comic. If you haven't read the first part, scroll down to the previous post, or click here: Space Comic Part 1.

Enjoy!

Space Comic Part 1

2010-02-18T21:00:00.007-05:00

I came up with a short idea, and like always, once I put it on paper, it ends up being pages long. To make sure I finished, I kept this mini comic in a format I was comfortable with, "widescreen format." My work in animation influenced me working this way, and since I planned to have it viewed on the blog, I figured it would read well vertically.

Next installment will be for Tuesday, 02-23-10.

Enjoy!

Mermaid: Working with separate elements

2010-02-10T19:40:00.007-05:00

I'm starting to think my works-in-progress never get done. This one here is an illustration I planned on submitting as a figure design, so she was drawn with a turnaround.

When I started inking I knew I wanted to work with and practice my thin lines. It was something I used to do ages ago but working on animation and comics, I had to learn to work with thicker lines. I miss working with thinner lines and still prefer it for my illustration work.

Anyway, I added color and because of the detail of the ink lines, the coloring came out "tight." I prefer a "looser" style, more energy and movement in the lines and color. My mermaid is finished but her turnaround and background elements are not. I need to keep working on getting the balance I want.

I added the background after the mermaid was finished but it feels out of place. This always happens to me when I work on elements of an illustration separately. When I was teaching, I always taught my students to draw out the whole illustration first before adding detail and color.

The illustration/figure design is paired with a centaur so I'm still working in an awkward way for myself. So lets see how that goes, still gotta long way to go. O__o

Sketches!

2010-02-05T01:43:00.002-05:00

Thought I'd post some sketches. Was trying to draw a teen girl in a hoodie. Don't know why she has two heads though....

Model Kit Addiction 03: Asuka Langley

2010-02-02T20:08:00.003-05:00

I don't remember when I did this model but I'm pretty sure it was when Neon Genesis Evangelion was still new and I was still a fan. That was years ago and years since I took these photos, so I don't have a complete turn around for Asuka.

It was still an early kit, so I made no attempt to use pins to hold the model in place. I focused mostly on color and texture and the detailing, which I think, I used a rapidiograph ink pen to do. I do remember her leg not fitting well so I had to do a lot of sanding and putty-ing to fix it to my liking.

I put a lot of work into my modelling, but since I've completed this model, I have moved twice. And twice, she broke... It's hard to get attached to your work and have it ruined. But, since it's just a hobby, I move on. Lesson learned. Pin the pieces together.

RPG Zombies!!!

2010-01-27T17:40:00.006-05:00

Over a year ago, Rob was trying to make a Resident Evil mock up game cover for something. I think it was for a "Tales of..." game, online contest. I thought it needed zombies, so I drew some. Since it was RPG themed, I made RPG zombies. (Makes sense right? Probably not...) The cat girl is my original design but the other two were inspired by Tales of Phantasia Chester, and Mint. Never played the game but it did make some interesting zombies.

Moe Design: Luna

2010-01-25T15:21:00.004-05:00

I posted my "Ginger" pic over at figure.fm and it wasn't much to the liking of the fans. Everyone there seems to be into a specific anime/manga style called "Moe." Honestly, I thought I knew what it was and decided to try another shot at drawing a pic for that site. I guess I get a little competitive and wanted to see if i could draw this "Moe" style. After much struggling and many attempts I came up with this design; Luna. Cute, but not "Moe" enough. I don't think I'll ever understand it. XD

Final Design: Ginger

2010-01-20T18:41:00.002-05:00

Following up my previous post, I finished the design I was working on. I saw "contest" over at figure.fm and thought I'd take a shot at it. Though my art didn't appeal to the mass on that site, it was fun to design something for them. Here's the page where I posted my art.

Where has the year gone?

2010-01-15T19:58:00.005-05:00

So I just noticed it's been over a year since I started Paintberry and I don't have enough artwork! Where has the year gone...? Anyway, now that I have been enlightened by this fact, I'm going to post more art...starting now!

Sketches for a design I was working on. She's based off the illustration I did for Twitter.

My Cage Year One: Now on Sale!!

2010-01-13T19:56:00.005-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

The holidays are always busy for me and I tend to be a bit absent from the online community. I did however manage to put together the My Cage Year One book right in time for the new year!

So, today I just received my proof in the mail and approved it for print! Whoo! Now all the first year strips are available for your viewing pleasure!

My Cage Year One is available at https://www.createspace.com/3415444, for $12.99. Hopefully within the week it'll also be available on amazon.com.

What a great way to start the New Year!!

Custom Monster Hunter Hard Drive

2009-11-28T17:04:00.006-05:00

During the holidays I try not to do work but I always need to doodle, craft, or create something with my hands. I bought decal paper many years ago thinking I was going to make my own decals for whatever I could put it on. After Thanksgiving my cute little Western Digital hard drive was sitting on my desk, looking all blue and naked. Right under my desk was the decal paper I recently found. It was destiny.

I wasn't sure what to make at first but I remember I had made a Monster Hunter Felyne decal for a pumpkin I didn't get to use. I transfered it on paper. Stuck a small sheet of decal on the hard drive and carved out the cat with a blade. My X-acto knife was chipped so I used a pocket knife. It took about an hour and now I'm happy with my custom Monster Hunter hard drive. =3

Resin Model Kits Addicts Anonymous

2009-11-17T19:51:00.007-05:00

Got another model kit post for ya! I can't quite remember the order of when I did these models but Misato from Evangelion here might have been my 5th one. Even for having done a few prior to this one, the whole painting and putting together resin model kits was still fairly new to me. Back in my high school years, there still wasn't a lot of info I could find on the internet about it so I had to learn on my own and whatever I could figure out from looking through Hobby Fan magazines.

Misato is 1/8 scale. I sanded down the rough parts and used no primer before painting. Yup, learning everything on my own. I usually start with lighter colors first, usually the skin tone. I used an airbrush the get most of the color down and masked off parts I didn't need colored. I then go in and paint the details with a small paint brush. Since my first plastic kit model with Cloud and Aerith, I vowed never to use decals for the eyes. I enjoy and take pride in painting the eyes myself.

The paints I used were Tamiya Acrylic paints. I used a glossy red for her jacket so it would look a little more like leather than the rest of her outfit.

Some detail I started using for this kit was wire for her hair. Yes...I thought about using metal wire for strands for hair before I realized I need it to pin pieces of her together. In the end, I think I only used the metal wire to pin her hands.

All in all, I was happy with the way the kit came out. It was still a learning process for me so stick around and check out future posts of my resin model kit adventures. Eventually I'll get around to posting some model kit tutorials!

Peace.

King Con at the Brooklyn Lyceum

2009-11-09T15:46:00.004-05:00

King Con has past and at first i thought it was a little unorganized but in the end it worked out. The Lyceum where the con was held felt like it was still under construction but for some reason I thought it was a good representation for Brooklyn. Lol!

I shared a table with my Estrigious gals, Becky and Hwan, and also our friends, Vanessa and Robin. The table was an 8 foot table so luckily there was just enough room for all of us!

I didn't take any pictures myself but do check out the post I made over at Estrigious!

For those of you who bought the Rapunzel mini, I'll be posting up the rest of the pages shortly.

Thanks for your support and all of you who came by.

Peace!

Professor Layton + Revoltech = Fangasm!!!

2009-11-02T01:15:00.002-05:00

The Chromaengine dudes have been looking at the new Revoltech figures coming up for the next few months but among all the figures was something I never expected... Professor Layton!! What more could a fan girl want? A poseable Layton with his book and tea cup? I'm in heaven. All that's missing is Luke. Luke where are you!! Revoltech, thank you, you have my money. <3

Street Fighter Fan Art

2009-10-25T23:53:00.003-04:00

I can't help it. Back when Street Fighter 4 came out on the home systems, I just had the urge to draw fan art for Crimson Viper. I really like her design. I actually started this illustration months ago. I took some time off from it several times but I finally sat down and finished. I even made a little tutorial for it over at ChromaEngine. So check it out if you'd like to see the work in progress.

Peace!

Pumpkin Carving!!

2009-10-12T23:44:00.005-04:00

It's October and that means a lot of things but the one thing in particular that got me excited was carving a pumpkin!!! I took my niece to a pumpkin patch and not being able to say "no" to an adorable 9 year old, I ended up getting 3 pumpkins. Two we painted but the biggest one we saved for carving. After much argument over what to carve, I chose a character from Persona 4; Teddie.

She thought it was creepy but hey its Halloween, but now that I think about it, I should have let her choose what she wanted....Lol! I guess I got carried away, I haven't carved a pumpkin in over 20 years so choosing an elaborate image to carve was probably not a good choice. I give credit to all those pumpkin carvers out there. It ain't easy. So after I chose my image, I had to determine where to make the cutouts. Basically, making it a black and white image and figuring out how the pieces will stay together. As my niece would say, make sure there are no "floating" pieces.

After I sat down to carve, I realize a kitchen knife wasn't going to work. I ran out, bought a cheap pumpkin carving set and went to work. After gutting the poor pumpkin with my niece, 3 and a half hours later I was done. Not the best but I think I got it to work.

In case your wondering , my niece did help some but I ended up making another image for her to carve on the smaller pumpkin. <3

A bunch of Twits

2009-10-05T04:03:00.005-04:00

I have tweeted. Somehow there are many Melissa DeJesus's so trying to do a combination of mine name proved difficult. I ended up with MelissaDejesus1, because I am number 1. >=}

I needed an avatar, so what better way to make one is create a whole new illustration! Yup, that is the sole reason I drew this. Lol. Anyway, I had a sketch like this in my mini sketch book and i thought I'd practice my coloring some more.

24 Hour Comic Day: The results are in

2009-10-04T19:50:00.004-04:00

We actually started at 12am Saturday, which might not have been a good idea, being that Hwan came from work and we've all already been up during the day. We struggled through the night, and crashed one by one. By late morning we where all up again, refreshed (sorta) and went back to comics.

There were 8 of us in total; Becky, Vasilis, Vanessa, Eve, Hwan, Robin, Rob and myself, and several cats that distracted us with their cuteness. We worked steadfast and everyone results were awesome! I managed to pencil 5 pages of my Rapunzel comic and inked 2! Here are the incomplete pages.

SPX and 24 Hour Comics

2009-10-01T14:39:00.004-04:00

Oh man, I just came back from the Small Press Expo this past weekend and it was great!! I went with my gal pals Hwan and Robin. There was a lot going on and to be honest a bit over-whelming for me at first. To see original creators and their works really inspired me. Their innovativeness really impressed me too. On Saturday I walked out to the hall for a breather and on an empty table in front of me stood a tiny paper figure. A yeti to be exact. A sucker for any type of mini figure, I picked it up and put it in my bag.

To my surprise when examining the paper figure later, there was a reward offer posted on the back for his return. A bigger sucker for things like this, I went back to Expo the next day, found the Last Dollar Comics booth, and returned him. I got a reward, a cardstock paper with more paper monsters to make! So much fun!!!

The highlight of course, was Hwan, Robin, and myself managed to put a mini comic together!! We've planned for months but was able to put it together at the last minute. I was only able to put in the first 6 pages of my Rapunzel comic, but it was still finished by pure determination!! Check out Hwan and Robin's blog to see the cover and their sample pages.

This coming weekend is 24 Hours comics day. So I plan to finish up my Rapunzel comic. Hopefully i can get a good amount done!

My Secret Obsession: Resin Model Kits

2009-09-17T19:06:00.005-04:00

Let's start with a brief history:
For some reason, when I was a little kid I felt compelled to draw and color on the faces of my dolls. Little plastic toy figures got full make-overs, including a small bugs bunny figure I painted black and white. Around the age of 11 I got a ceramic Santa and painted him with much love and care...only to be knocked over by my parents while it dried on the room divider, breaking into several pieces.

Time went by and my hobbies turned to comics and video games. One particular time i remember running to the magazine store with my girlfriends after school(one of them being Hwan, lol) to drool over the long awaited sequel Final Fantasy 7.

I can't quite remember where, possibly the store 'Anime Crash' that I used to visit, but when I walked in, there was a Final Fantasy 7 box, and to my amazement, it was a plastic model kit. With my hobby reborn, an obsession started.

I had no prior experience or knowledge with these type of kits so I learned along the way. I knew enough to find a hobby store and purchase the paints listed in the pamphlet the kit came with, some putty, and glue. The store might have actually carried the paints, I don't recall, it was a long time ago. Remember, this was a time where the internet was different from today. No youtube to look up tutorials. I had to go to Japanese bookstores, follow the pictures in the magazines and learn Katakana so I can read names of kits, colors and such. Anyway, here they are, kits 1 and 2.

My first kits. I was 16 years old. Aeris was actually the first out the 2 I painted. I didn't put much concern into the base so I left it as it was.

Blurred the corner so you don't see the junk in my house. Lol!

The kit came with decals for the eyes. The first and only time I've ever used decals.

Cloud and Aeris where painted entirely by brush with Tamiya paints. I used most of the colors out of the jar and only used putty around Aeris' waist. I had no sanding tools but the kits where clean enough.

More kits to come!

Women of Comics gathering

2009-09-08T20:12:00.004-04:00

This weekend Becky, Hwan, and myself will be at Thats Entertainment, 244 Park Ave., Worcestor, Massachusetts for a Women of Comics gathering. The trio will be joining Tara McPherson, and Hilary Price for an afternoon of signing, sketching, and demonstration!
This fateful day will be Saturday 12th! So be there!

Santa versus Dracula Teaser trailer

2009-09-01T16:01:00.009-04:00

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

Aye...I finally finished the animation I've been working on for the last few weeks. I barely went outside, I haven't spoken to anyone but the animation is done.

Toward the end I rushed a bit, and when I look back I can see some things I'd like to fix and add to it, but overall I'm happy with the way it came out. After I animated the scenes I handed them over to Rob who put the scenes together and did all the editing! Thank you!! ---<3

I wouldn't have finished without help but it was a fun project and it made me realize I need to brush up on my animation and take it a bit more seriously. It's definitely something I won't give up.

The animation short is a teaser trailer to the 8 page comic I did for Zuda a few months back. This one was also submitted for another contest on Aniboom where Fox was looking for an edgy holiday short. The writer, Ed Power (who also writes the MyCage comic strip) thought the comic idea was perfect for the animation contest. I have to admit, it seemed like a great opportunity at first but I really debated on wheher it was something I could pull off. But one thing I've learned over the years is that if I keep turning down opportunities, I'm going to get nowhere fast.

Believe me, I thought about giving up a few times but I managed to pull it off and I'm glad I did. I have another animated project under my belt and it's something I stuck with to the end to finish. So I feel good about it and I hope it keeps me on a productive path.

Since the clip itself has no credits, I'd like to thank Roberto Flores, Albert Li, Sean Callahan, and Alex Shum for the help, (even if a little provided), in getting this done. Thanks guys!!

Now that the animating is over....back to comics!!

Why the Japanese scare me.

2009-08-18T20:56:00.005-04:00

Okay, so it's just a stop motion animation made with some Figma toys and Gundam mechs, but it's done so well, that it scares me. The girls look especially creepy when they move all around all girly like. (I think what really scares me is the room filled only with boxes and toys.)

Maybe this kid had to much time on his hands...but I do have to admit, he did a really good job with the stop motion. I do like it a lot. Reminds me of the good ol days when I was able to do so much with my time. Ah youth.... I shall use it as inspiration to continue my hobbies! ..though less creepy. :-)

Btw, he has about a dozen of these made.

Cats that Play

2009-08-13T01:53:00.005-04:00

When I don't have time to play with my cats, I give them my handheld games to play on. Leon is on the DS and Jasper, my sister's cat, is on the PSP. I don't know what they're playing, I was too busy taking the picture. :-)

Back to basics? :-(

2009-08-07T18:31:00.007-04:00

Here's a scene I decided to "pencil test," though the scene is already complete. It's a good thing I did, I was really rusty and it took me a while to relearn the program again. I used an updated After Effects and even the most simplest tasks gave me trouble to figure out. It's only been about 2 years since I've used it....so I guess it's enough to drive me crazy. The scene does need some fixing, so I'll go back and correct the timing a bit, but the actual drawings in the frames are going to stay the way they are. It would be great to go back and smooth out the animation but I have to move on to other scenes. Practice makes perfect!

Dracula vs Santa Animation

2009-07-31T02:35:00.002-04:00

I finally started on the DvS animation and, boy, do I have a long month ahead of me. What I decided to work on first are the scenes that were not in the original comic. This included Dracula, who didn't appear in the first 8 pages of the comic. Good thing is, since this is Dracula's first appearance, I've put some good effort and his scenes will look the best, cuz when I get closer to the end I know I won't be able to keep up with the quality. Lol, God help me, I haven't pencil tested.

Doesn't take much to have a dirty mind.

2009-07-22T15:02:00.003-04:00

I remember seeing this when I was younger. Thought it was catchy. Now that I'm an adult, and the word "count" is censored, things appear so much more clearly now. Good Lord....

Back to Animation

2009-07-20T16:29:00.007-04:00

Ed Power and myself worked on Santa vs Dracula (or Dracula vs Santa) for Zuda a few months back. Read it here if you haven't done so already. Though we only came in 4th place we still have plans to finish it. There's a lot to be worked on it but for the rest of the summer we're going to be doing an animated promo for the comic. Here is an initial design for Dracula that many readers of the original 8 pages wanted to see, and a redesign of Nick Fury. More work to be done!

Wedding Gift Art!

2009-07-17T16:10:00.010-04:00

Illustration by Robin Ha.

I'm celebrating my first anniversary! Boy does time does fly. I got some great gifts that I still use today but the most special ones to me, where the ones made by my friends. I don't like getting mushy but it did bring a tear to my eye. Many tears. Of joy!

These comic strips were made by my bestest of friends, who have known Rob and myself for a long time as a couple. They actually represent true incidents. Atleast the ones that involved me. Heh.

To Robin, Becky, Risa, Vanessa, Eve, and Vasilis: Thanks guys, love you all!

Comics by Becky:

Comics by Hwan:

Comic by Vanessa:

Comic by Eve:
Comic by Vasilis:

More coloring fun

2009-05-30T00:49:00.007-04:00

So I'm working on a project with my Estrigious girls and this was a sketch I drew for that. It's a really small sketch but I inked it digitally and decided to practice some coloring on it. I think no matter what medium I use, all my color works tend to look the same. Hmm...the color here appears to be a bit different than how they looked while I was working on it. o__O

My Cage Store!!

2009-05-11T16:58:00.003-04:00

My Cage official started it's little online store! Whoo! You can find merchandise for sale at www.cafepress.com/mycagecomic. There, you find find t-shirts, mugs and mouse pads featuring artwork by me of some of the My Cage characters!! Check it out and buy something. Also, if any readers or fans would like to request a character, feel free to do so!!

Enjoy!!

Estrigious 10 Year Anniversary!!

2009-04-28T13:45:00.004-04:00

Wow! It's been 10 years now since Estrigious was established. We've been through ups and downs but overall did some amazing things together as a group. We've self-published two books, did artwork and even hosted a panel at a convention. We've even worked on the animation scenes featured in the live action movie Super Troopers. Most importantly, we've created this website to feature our work and support each other as friends and fellow artists.

Things have changed and now so has Estrigious. We will continue to respect and honor the things that made Estrigious what it is today, but to reflect change and the growth made over the years, Estrigious will gradually blossom in something more representative of what we are today.

Be ready to check out the site to see changes made, and news on upcoming projects.

Forever love, Estrigious

Work in Progress: Eagle I

2009-03-21T21:28:00.005-04:00

Work in progress. An idea for an image I had in my mind for a while. Hopefully I can get myself to finish it.

Sokora Refugees Volume 3

2009-03-11T15:11:00.007-04:00

Some people have been asking me about Sokora Refugees Volume 3, while some others still ask about Volume 2... Unfortunately, at this moment, Sokora volume 3 will not be printed. Why, you ask? Things happen and things don't happen. It's a choice made by Tokyopop and I've put my work on it on hold. I've only managed to finish the first chapter since then and I've chosen some random pages for you to see, including a double page spread. The pages are incomplete leaving out tones and dialogue. Maybe one day I'll get back to it, but in the meantime I've been working on other projects. ~Peace

Zuda Contest

2009-03-05T01:42:00.006-05:00

Ed Power, the writer for My Cage, came up with this idea for Santa versus Dracula. It sounded like so much fun, and as a side project I thought it be great to work on a colored comic. Ed wanted to submit it to Zuda.com so I had to work on it in their measurements which was a little tricky. Once I read through a script, I scribble what I visualize on the side and then arrange them on a page in panels. These sketches here are the original layouts and they are actually very small. I think I stuck to them quite well.

If you want to check out the finished pages, go to Zuda.com and click on Dracula vs Santa. And while you're there, sign up here and vote for me! It IS a contest. :-)

Love and War with comics

2009-02-26T19:13:00.006-05:00

A very long time ago (I'm talking about 10 years here...), I wanted to draw a comic with Rob. Something fun to do together. It quickly became a battle I had hoped to eventually win... until one day, when Nebuli was born. A love comic made between Becky Cloonan and Vasilis Lolos. As my peers, I love everything they put on paper and to do a mini comic together, pure awesomeness! My happiness suddenly melted into envy and jealousy when I realized I was fighting a war with Rob I wasn't going to win. So here is my one page comic that I did about a year ago on my acceptance of that.

Nebuli is a very special comic indeed. <3

Space Chase

2009-02-24T00:37:00.000-05:00

Way back when I was in college I made this animated short with 2 other friends, Jade Kuei, and Alana Roberts. Even after my thesis and other animated projects, this short still remains as one of my personal favorites. It was done with two good friends and our different ideas came together lovely. It may be cheesy but I'm proud to show it off. And thank you Jade for putting up on youtube! <3

Fun in the cold sun

2009-01-19T12:13:00.000-05:00

It's been really cold for the last few days and I've been stuck in-doors. Taking a brief break from my work I decided I wanted to illustrate something for myself, something I haven't done in a long time.
Lately I've been feeling inhibited by drawing on paper, so for practice, I drew this completely on my wacom, sketching, inking and coloring. I'm pretty happy with it but I want to practice more. I've never been much of a detail person.

The gift of giving...

2008-12-29T21:39:00.000-05:00

For as long as I can remember, people have always ask for artwork from me and the toughest ones to satisfy are my family members. Once I get around to giving art away, I turn around and see that it's been 10 years! Now I have to draw new art for everyone! Ha! As much as I'd like to give updated illustrations to everyone, I can never quite find enough time.

This one in particular was made for my best friend, Anais. I've known her since she we were little girls and the last pic I drew for her was about 8 years ago. She still has it framed in her room.
Recently, she has been asking for a new pic and I haven't got around to doing one so I thought the holidays would be the perfect time to give her one. It's softly ifluenced by the art of Alphonse Mucha and it's an image of Anais and her daughter Scarlett. I thought it would be tough to capture their image in a nice pose but it came to me rather easily. Love makes it easy.
Note: Any family members reading this: I'll get around to your pic soon cuz I love you all too! ;__;

Hard Listening

2008-12-16T01:18:00.000-05:00

This weekend I was visiting Becky, and we were talking about rap music. Yes, out of all things... So she then asks if I've ever heard a song called Dance With the Devil, by Immortal Technique. Upon replying "no," she puts the song on for me to listen to. One word to describe it, 'intense.' While listening to it I felt as if he was yelling in face, telling me a story I didn't want to hear, in full detail. Yup, pretty intense. So intense in fact I drew this one panel comic.
Thanks Becky.

Paint Berry Launch

2008-11-30T21:43:00.000-05:00

Today is the day I finally put up a blog for myself. As the days go by I shall ''decorate'' the site and organize it for your viewing pleasure. Stay tuned!