Broken Open

This is a shirt design I made for a Threadless contest.  Didn't win, but it garnered a bit of attention.

Still a little lost as to how to brand myself, but I figure sharing things is the best way to go about it.

Here's the shirt design and some mockups for if I print it.

Updates

I have been a big behind in posting, and I apologize!  My life has been consumed by socials and working on private commissions, which means I don't have too much I can share with you wonderful people.   But here's an update on a non-fandom/obscure shirt I've been working on for a while.   Pandabeer!  Hoping to have it ready in time for summer shows.

Winter Chase Process

How I digital art:

1.  Initial sketch.  Done in Photoshop with my favorite faux pencil brush.  

2.  Inking, inking, inking.  I use Clip Studio Paint for my inking.  It has a line stabilizer, so you have cleaner lines.  It's also fairly compatible with Photoshop, so you get transparency behind lines. 

3. After I ink, I take things back into Photoshop and use the warp tool to push and pull areas that feel too squished. 

4.  Colors and texture.  Pretty simple.  Background texture, then a hard edged brush and the selection tool to divide up areas.  Each color on a separate layer, another texture overtop to create the worn look.  Honestly, it's not hard... but I could afford to do an entire tutorial on speedy flat coloring. 

Keep everything on separate layers.  It may make for a big file, but it's worth it in the end to be able to endlessly edit.  

Winter Chase

Whew! Haven't posted in a bit, so here's something new.   Just working out my inking and photoshopping skills.  Might finagle this into a shirt.

I see a lot of semi-surreal and mythological art that I really like, so I'd be interested in doing more work like this... but this one has a few issues.    There's not quite enough to the composition, is't not really horizontal or digital, the pose could be more dynamic... and so on.

Day 31 - Be Mine!

Here's the last one!  The typical sort of Valentine I make and get commissioned for.

In conclusion: I did pretty well with this 30 day painting challenge.   The whole point was to get better at studio practice, and a lot of what I do is commission or design work that's not always public.  So I feel fairly happy with my work output... but I need to spend more time on fine art in addition to my illustration.

Day 29 - Maned Wolf

I like making these little storybook animal illustrations.  If you go back through my blog, you can see a lot of the others I do!  I sell these at art shows as tags or badges.   I have to do a snow leopard, panda, and corgi at least.  I need to add a few more dog breeds and more little kitties as well.

So for now, here's a frequently requested maned wolf!

Day 28 - Cabin

Working on my sketchbooking, which is something I should be doing more of.   The paper did NOT want to absorb!  But I got some great effects out of it.   Cabiny deliciousness.