I find it amazing that when I have work to do, life interferes.  I am a full-time artist; home all the time.  You would think I would have plenty of time to get my work done - but like everyone, I just have too much to do.
Gotta pay bills, take my daughter shopping... well you know.   Stuff.
My mornings are generally productive - but it's hard to get the acrylic out and get started.  I know that my family will be up 'sometime' and then I'll have to put everything away.  I will shoot for it anyway today - that way I can take inventory of my paints and see which ones I need more of - thus when we go shopping, I can be productive.

The trick to being a professional stay-at-home artist is being organized and making sure you get something done everyday.  Even if it's not art - if you are clearing your plate so you can get art done.... or making certain you have your materials at hand... it's good.

Directions

I set out my work at cons all the time. I have generally noticed a trend. I show people my new fantasy painting and they smile at me, pat my head and say 'Very nice, Diana - Hey, wait.... lookit the cute kitties!'. Much like the old adage; start with a joke - I find cute sells.

Most of what I sell is the cute stuff.

Most of what I like to paint is the fantasy pieces .

Yet I am competing in a big arena. There are a lot of people out there doing gorgeous work. Some of it seems too slick, or too edgy for my tastes - but I assume that is what sells (since I see it all over the place).

I have my own voice. Every artist does. I have been taught to nurture and treasure my own tone of art. I also notice there aren't a lot of ladies out there doing the sort of art I would like to see. Something with Romance, something that touches my own life's dreams - instead of 1/2 naked ladies with wings. Not that I should complain, some of my favorite characters are busty ladies.

So, this rambling comes down to a series of choices.

What direction am I heading in?

Am I in the industry just to make money, or to satisfy my soul?

Can I do what I want and add a cute element to it? And is it telling that I say 'what I want' when what I mean is Fantasy?

I think it's good to look at what I am doing once in a while. It keeps me moving in some direction rather than just repeating. Thinking.

San Diego Comic Con 2012

Shopping Adventures

There was a Durpy myLittlePony that was special exclusive purchase at the con. I figured they were nice, but I didn't really need one. You needed to get in line to get a ticket to get in line to buy your special toy - and I wasn't going to do that. Well, they went like hotcakes! I have friends who wanted one. I suppose I should have scored one on the first day. They were sold out before the end of the con.

I did manage to make it all the way to the end of the hall - once.

Found a really nice couple of new to me artists in the small press area. Bought a sketchbook.

I found Chris Sanders - who use to be just behind me but moved - and scored some of his posters in addition to buying sketchbooks. I sent a couple of posters back to the Sofawolf table for the guys and Kenkat.

Got a couple of sketches in my collection book.

Wanted to buy Donato's Captain America picture - but need to wait for prints.

I made Dave buy a button down shirt with a Captain Nemo theme. yum!

I bought a Utilakilt! They were the booth behind us, and I have ordered one to my size. They are cut for guys, and my booty just made the size go up.

While shopping, I found a lost badge on the floor! Eyikes! Can you imagine loosing your badge on the very first day? I turned it in to Lost and Found with a note to come by the booth - and he did.

 

Swag Adventures

I saw posted the bags from the con, and was disappointed - but wait! Sabrina came back with a Hobbit bag! That wasn't on the release! Need Need Need! I needed to try and score one for Terrie - who's house I was staying at. I found a great commissioner who had a hobbit bag and I meeped at her. She was staying with friends who got hobbit bags.... I told her if she brought me a bag on picture pick-up; I would give her the pic for free. SCORE! She did!

Dave stood in line for Ninja Turtle specials, and I went back again. Bob at home, watching our kitties wanted some. That was a longish line, but there were nice people to talk to.

A Doctor Who Lunch Box was twittered from a friend - need. Dave was first in line and bought the first one sold in the US.

Bob Eggleton wanted a Godzilla figure exclusive, so Dave was over at that line picking one up.

I sent my family out every morning. The Warner Brother's booth had Hobbit pins - yum! We also got some Superman T-shirts as well (but I was really after the buttons).

Searched all weekend for the Fringe fedora’s - didn't get one.

After the close of the dealer's room, I tend to skate around and see what people are throwing out. I picked up some of the con bags orphaned by people who probably just didn't have room for them. I like to take them home for gamers and friends. We scored the Batman one after close. Got Hobbit, Big Bang, Batman, Fringe, Vampire Diaries, Arrow, Superman, SciFi Channel, Twilight - in the big bags.

Getting home to my Detroit airport, I found the zipper had given away on a suitcase. We had even brought at extra duffelbag to relieve the pressure on all the suitcases! I went through all my swag and found I was missing the Daffey Duck hats and a bag of business cards and actual comic books (At a comic convention? No! Really?). I called all the airports in question and then sheepishly found the bag Sabrina carried carry-on had been left in the car and had everything.

There were foam Dalek hats! I wanted one. I failed.

Costume Adventures

Sabrina did most of the costuming, disappearing one afternoon for the Homestuck photo shoot.

Dave looked great in his Captain America Renaissance outfit. The pants did not last the con. He did have fun getting his picture taken. He would pass people in the hall - Captain Jack - and say 'Captain' and get the reply 'Captain'. What fun!

The Aztec - who I think was a local sports guy having a blast in his costume. He know how to blow a mean conch shell.

Celebrity Adventures

We went to Wootstock, a cabaret for nerds - and got to see some Trek guys (Levar and Will) and Myth Busters (Adam & Grant). Paul & Storm, Damit Liz, Marion Call, Rob Reed.

Just walking around I got to see Chewie, Abe Sapien (Hell Boy), Lou Fargino, Goeff Peterson (Late Night with Craig Furgeson), Will Wheaton. I just missed the Dwarves from Hobbit at the Warner Brother's booth.

I got autographs from two girls from the Hunger Games. Sabrina smartly got in a line, and was given a wristband. This got her an autograph. April actually went to see when, and it turned out it was being done right then. I was busy with clients, so she went instead. With the wrist band, she got in line and didn't have to wait too long. Amandla Stenberg and Willow Shields

Talked to and saw Terry Dodson, Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother), Donato, Ruth Thompson & Alwin, Alan Williams, Steve Argyle, Sue Daw, Roz Gibson, Kenkat, Terease Mathers, Lar Desouza,Todd Lockwood, Phil & Kajia, Echo & Lazerous. Saw Tina Thomas on the last day as we were packing out. Many friends and people whom I only see once in a while. I really should just take pictures as I go along.

Dave recognizes people (while I am oblivious) - he saw Starski, was almost run over by Gene Simon's entourage, cast from Cleveland show, Rob Paulson (Pinkey), Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall), Robert Downey Jr, Scalzi, Scott Card (Dave spotted him), Pat Talman (Babalon 5), and more that I can't get him to list right now.

Adventures in Sales

Obviously, my regular customers know to come and get pictures done. Whew! Always nice to be supported and have some work to do. David asked me to do what I wanted, and my mind blanked and I did my characters rather than our characters - shows you how busy I was.

David (Cobra) came by and got me too - and was looking to connect with Terrie for work with her. I managed to hook them up - doing both of them a favor.

Sold an original - always good.

Watching my sales this year. I note that I sell a lot of cute things, as opposed to the big pretty fantasy pics I like to do. I am thinking .... maybe I need to focus in a new direction.

There's more - but I gotta go play DDO!

Me, Myself and I

I do a lot of quick drawings just for my own sake.  I have sketchbooks and sketchbooks just filled with doodles and ideas for me. 

Here are some more finished pictures that I have done for my D&D game.  Fanzines filled with pictures, stories and bits for my game.

Don't forget as an artist to take time to do things for yourself!

Such an Ugly Child - twitter posts

While I was working on the new painting for San Diego Comic Con, I tweeted the progress.  Here are those pictures, run together...

Here is the sketchbook sketch that I started with, the finished sketch of the girl, the ents added to the sides - all put on board and the first brown down.  This did take me a couple of days.  I got Sabrina to pose for me and set up the lights for two good shades of light on her face.

Filling out the ents, I wanted them to be very simple in color as a kinda of background element.  With the girl frisketed off, I still wanted to show the girl even if wasn't getting any work done on her.  Darken and beard.  I knew I wanted the root beards, and it took me a while to be brave enough to put them on.

Once happy enough with the ents, I peeled the girl and started on her flesh tones.  I put on the contrasting blue side light and Sabrina decided she was a frost giant.  Did a little work on the branch design over her head.

Working on all the pretty hair.  It started to look like fire, and I didn't want that, so I did the poor man's frisket (post it notes) and made certain they were curls, not flames.  She's beginning to look good.

I did that nice trick with the plastic wrap to make a design on her outfit.  There are lots of little details that are being picked out now - so they are hard to see.  The last picture, her pupils are in - meaning I am done.

There!  It's tilted because it's just a photo from the cell phone.  A close up of the girl just to finish things off.
Happy.

Painting Start

Coming up on SanDiego Comic Con, and I'd like to have something new to hang in the back of the booth.
I decided to do something with a dryad and some tree spirits about her.  I wanted to throw in a little BRAVE idea because I liked the movie.  I did a couple of little sketches to set a direction...

The idea of a pretty girl with branches coming out of the shock of red hair appealed.  It I give the ents root beards, then I will have all sorts of directional lines in up and down directions.  fun.

Thinking of making her tribal, with markings of bark on her face is spirals - but this is just a thought.  I might want to keep her clean and craggy up the tree people in the background.

Gotta get to work....