Sorry for the disappearance

Wow, life happened.  Sadly I overwhelmed myself and something gave while I focused on getting better and working on Messenger's pages.  I'm back, but I'm not going to make any promises on when I'll update here.  If anyone is interested in seeing maybe pencils and inks of Messenger's pages, I can post some of those.  I don't put finished pages up here because I notice from my school pages, the word balloons are often really hard to see.  They show up best on the webcomic's site: http://messenger.thecomicseries.com/  (which updates every Monday).

So status since the past update here; Chapter 1 returned as planned and finished up, and Chapter 2 is running smoothly.  I'm doing better with my health than I was about a year ago--I'm not where I want to be, but something is better than nothing.  I tabled at this past SC ComiCon in Greenville SC back in March; and I also will be returning to SpartanCon this year on May 9, in Spartanburg SC.  I really enjoyed it last year, and am glad to be going back.

But enough of my boring talking, please enjoy some art.  I managed two small print illustrations not featuring Messenger characters *gasp!*  This is what I did when I took a short actual break between Chapters 1 and 2.

 

Messenger is set to return! Also, there be other updates!

So, the date I plan to begin regular page updates again is Monday August 4, 2014.  I know, its still a number of months away, but by then I should have a comfortable buffer built up, and feel confident in Chapter 1 running and ending smoothly.  While as far as my back and neck are concerned, they've been doing much better, and I don't tend to have as many problems.  My arm/tendonitis has sadly been a different story.  I have been able to work on pages again, but they're coming along slowly, and some days are better or worse than others.  I've also been trying other things to get it to get better, and get it to not cause me so much pain.

So with all that said, I am still open to any suggestions anyone has that they would like to see.  Are you interested in how I handle writing, story plotting, thumbnailing, penciling, inking, coloring, lettering, etc?    Don't feel shy to ask me.  I have some ideas to help continue to fill the Monday gaps until August, but I want to be sure it is things that you guys are curious about or would like to see.  All these updates and art can be seen on Messenger's site:  http://messenger.thecomicseries.com/ .


In other news I'll be holding my first artist alley table at SpartanCon in Spartanburg, SC on Saturday May 10th.  If you are going, feel free to stop by and say hi.  This is up on the conventions tab at the top.  I'll update the tab as I solidify any conventions I'll be attending.

Also, my commissions have been closed for a while, but I plan to reopen them around the end of May.  Thank you to everyone who has been so patient with me.

Now trying something else

It's been while since I've done ink washing.  I'm trying to get away from some of my more solid perfectionism, and try to get some flow and life into my drawing by relaxing.  Did this with only general shapes and composition laid out in pencil (I normally plan every tree limb in advance).  It was most certainly and interesting and fun undertaking.

For anyone waiting for Messenger to return, I should have a date planned and announced by either April or May.

It's been a long time, graphite pencils

I'm glad to say I've been feeling a lot better this month.  I've been able to work more on Messenger, and got inspired to draw a pencil drawing of Emil's late father, the Desert King, Amir  (read the story thus far at messenger.thecomicseries.com).  It's been too long since I last worked in the medium, and it was awesome going back and working with pencils again.

Here's the progress of it over the past few days:

It's been a slow start

I had hoped to have more to show at the start of the year, but my health had other plans.  Luckily, I've been getting a handle on it all, and each day I've felt better.  I'm happy to say that I have finally been able to return to drawing.  To show for it, I have the pencils of a character illustration of Zaki for everyone to see.

For those who have yet to visit Messenger's site, I have been taking a break from uploading pages, and am currently unsure when I'll start uploading them again, my goal is Fall 2014 at the very latest.  I'm working on pages as we speak, and am wanting to get a buffer built back up before I begin uploads again.  The first 21 pages of chapter 1 are up for reading at Messenger's site: www.messenger.thecomicseries.com .  For further updates on what is going on, you can check the site, as well as here.


See everyone next month with hopefully good news.

On to the Next

Well, its the last day of 2013.  A lot has happened the past couple months, but I most certainly did not want to miss updating here one last time this year.  Got some oldish work to show, one which I hadn't shown in full because it did not meet its intended purpose.  I decided it would be good to show now.

This was the original design for the Messenger website background.  It didn't work out as I got confused on the dimensions.  I had much to learn as I worked out my first web design.  I learned a lot from the help of this piece.

This is the current background.  I finally figured out the correct dimensions, and drew this to their exact specifications.

This was all done back in August as I strove to get Messenger's site up, running, and looking pretty before the comic began.  I figured it was time to share them.

I look forward to seeing everyone next year.

A little something...

This is just an illustration I originally did to get it and my want to draw this guy out of my mind so that I could focus on other things (i.e. Messenger).  Needless to say that I loved the sketch so much that it became more than that.  I tightened and cleaned it up, then inked it, then decided to color it.

 And since I still loved it and had a want to do some traditional screen-toning again, I decided this was the piece to do it on.  I really enjoy screen-toning the good-old traditional way with a sticky sheet and x-acto knife.  I tend to find it very relaxing.

Until next time.

It's Halloween!

I love Halloween!  So here's a little something I did in celebration of this awesome holiday!

Happy Halloween from Zaki and Asad! Its my favorite Holiday, and I wanted these two to enjoy it as well; though I think Asad might be a little grump-miser-ish about it.

The conversation in my head:

Emil- Asad, I want you to accompany Zaki tonight and be sure he doesn't get into any trouble.
Asad- Watching him is not in my job description. But if I must...
Emil- You also have to wear a costume. Keep with tradition and all.
Asad- A costume? Really?
Emil- Yes. I think this will be good for you to lighten up some.
Asad- Lighten up? *sigh* Fine. But no wigs or hats.
Emil- Fair enough.


Okay, maybe its a little one-sided. But there's really no use arguing with Emil.



I'm done now.   Have fun, eat lots of candy, and be safe. See you all on Monday for a regular update at Messenger's website: http://messenger.thecomicseries.com

October Monthly Update

Hey everyone; I know I haven't been as active on here as I had been the past few months, but do not fear because Messenger is still up-dating once a week on Monday at its own home: http://messenger.thecomicseries.com.

I must admit, I'm still excited that its up for everyone to read.  I feel that that is a victory in and of itself.  In celebration, here's a little piece of art I did for a promotional poster I hope to be posting around  (in the tweaking process) :

I'm so happy a friend told me of the beauty of PNG files.


Until next time everyone enjoy October (my favorite month with my favorite Holiday).

It Has Begun!

Messenger has started.  I'm all sorts of excited for this, and I hope you all enjoy it.  You can read it over at:  http://messenger.thecomicseries.com.

Messenger Extras!

Messenger starts next week on Monday, September 2 at http://messenger.thecomicseries.com (I'm probably sounding like a broken record by now).

Anywho, here's a whole school of uploads I had posted up on my DA:  http://celestrialdarkmoon.deviantart.com/ on the off days.

A page WIP:

A quick sketch of Zaki:

Another Page WIP during the flatting process (honestly, I just like how that face turned out):

 

Another flatting WIP:

 

I drew Asad and Zaki for a test on rethinking how I've been going about drawing my figures to try to get some more life in them:

 

And, lastly, progression of thumbnail to final product of a random panel:

See you next week for Messenger's start.

Two more weeks!

Just two more weeks until Messenger's start.  I got its website up and running now (that was quite a new experience!)  I feel so accomplished!  Go on over and check it out at http://messenger.thecomicseries.com

Release Date for Messenger!

Its officially official!  Messenger's release date will be Monday, September 2, 2013!  One page will be released each Monday following that.  You  can catch Messenger on its own website:   http://messenger.thecomicseries.com .  Some updates may be here, but the website will be the main place to go.

It Became a Thing

First off, a full height sheet of the characters and creatures in my up-coming webcomic, Messenger:

Next, I originally drew my 'chibi style' version of Asad (the guy in red armor) for fun, to just take a break from more serious art.  I loved him so much that I colored him, and loved it even more.  I then took some time to draw all the characters and creatures that way, making it a thing.  I personally think they turned out quite adorable.

Messenger Creatures

Creatures designs of Messenger:

Adel:

Zaki's steed.

Nagi:

Asad's steed.

Bidziil:

Cheveyo's steed.

Ifalgeolf:

Pack creature that roams the forest.

Adel and Nagi are both Izmelses, which are creatures native to the desert, and are the desert people's way of travel.
Bidziil is an Isongle which typically live in the mountains of the forest.  However, since Cheveyo save him as a hatchling, he has stayed by her side as a loyal companion.

Messenger Characters

I've worked out some pretty solid designs for the characters in my up-coming webcomic.

Zaki:

A young messenger in-training.

Asad:

 Emil's personal guard.

Emil:

 Prince of the Desert.

 Cheveyo:

 Boundary guard of the Forest.

 Kangee:

King of the Forest.

Webcomic Title

I'll be releasing a webcomic starting this fall.  This is the design for the title I made.  Keep checking back for more information on it.

Busy, Busy, Busy

It has been so crazy and busy for me lately.  A few of my endeavors include moving, going through and doing some much needed organization of my things so that now I should have no problem finding what I need when I need it, and walking across a stage so that I feel more accomplished in earning my degree.  Now I continue my job searching, and working on art.

Speaking of art, here's something I drew and colored:

 

I like drawing this guy because he is quite fun to draw and I've really liked his design and have been determined to tweak it until I'm happy with it.

Some Designs

It's been a crazy month with a lot happening.  Amongst all the craziness, I drew a few old characters of mine whom I haven't drawn in quite some time.  (Surprisingly, none of them are villains.  Aren't you proud of me).

 

 

Apparently I have liked red this month, and yes, I had fun working with the glowing effects for the last one.

Still doing some coloring stuff

Yep, you guessed it, I'm still working on coloring.  This time I decided to color some head practice for a character whom I've been having some problems with.  (mainly his horns), but I'm getting there. It's also a good consistency practice.

 

First, I've gone back to working with the normal cut-style, though after doing a heavy self-evaluation, I decided to try something new (for me) on how I handle it.  I'm liking the results so far.

I'm still working with the more paint style as well.  I've really been enjoying this way of coloring.  I'm still debating with how the end looks with how I handle inking, but if anything, it makes for good practice on handling light and shadows, as well as figuring the bone and muscle structure under the skin.

My apologies for the small update this time.  A lot has been going on, but I've been determined to keep with my personal goal of updating this at least once a month.