Art Blog

Digital Comic Share

A special thanks goes to Carlos, who sent me these links - consider me addicted. I hope you enjoy these as well, especially on a  Friday! Though these are in my inspiration section I think just sharing them is enough. So, these are digital comics - in other words, someone makes a story, makes the art for it, and puts it up for people to enjoy FOR FREE as they work on it. If that isn't reason enough to adore the internet, then I don't know what is. There are many others that are paid subscriptions as well, but I am the worst kind of fan: short attention span. These, however, have my full attention.

The Abominable Charles Christopher, by Kerschl, seems to be about an adorable yeti with a pacifier, and the smart-alecky creatures of the forest.  This also won an Eisner Award for ‘Best Digital Comic’. Its got the stunning array of humor, drama, and beautiful storytelling.

And now for the beautiful and enchanting Kukuburi by Ramón Peréz.  A delivery girl walks through a white picket gate and is confronted with an incredible world as well as her old nightmares. I am still reading and enjoying, so that's all I can say - other than the colors, line quality, and character expressions are just a treasure.

Bat’s Day Holiday Black Market – My faves!

So, if you missed out on the fantastic holiday shopping of handmade items, and buying direct from the artist, you still have a chance! There was so much talent and beautiful things at the Black Market, but there were some that really appealed to me. Here is a synopsis of the ones I couldn't help but share with you, in the off chance you would want to support these artists and crafters.

Check out their sites, if you dare. You might find yourself ordering wondrous things for friends and family after you've fulfilled your visual desires.

Of course, Sarah E. Kushner's booth of art at the Black Market Holiday Event in Anaheim, California this weekend. A fantastic artist, and wonderful friend.

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Here is Sarah with the sweet CRANIE-YUMS and their booth. They were right next to us, completely adorable, kind, and if I had hair you know I would be sporting one of their bows. Those mustaches are their creation as well

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Abby Belle and her world of characters. These aren't your grandma's figurines, awesome they may be. Abby Belle's are apparently paper-craft. However, I speculate they are made of magic. Hopefully these photos do this adorableness justice.

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We move onto more cute things with My Vicious Boutique by Ismael Lerma

Thank goodness this fashion/painter/crafter has discovered the wonderful art of doll making. Yep. Hand. Made. Dolls.

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 Working Class Punx : Bags, wallets, jackets and with wondrous patterns. They sat on the other side of our booth and it was difficult to keep my hands off their merchandise. COLORS!! ZIPPERS! POCKETS!!!

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Hairy Scary hairpieces. I couldn't stay away from skulls and skeletons hands gently embedded with flurrfy, bright feathers.

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You know when you see something in the real world, and suddenly all those magical stories in your head have a chance of being real...the following two artists gave me that moment: the headdresses of Bubbles And Frown and Miyu Decay's  otherworldly feathers, hand sculpted and cast pewter, stunning necklaces, and headdresses ... check out their etsy links I just gave you!

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Speaking of headdresses and hats...I'm still not finished. SUFFER IN MY DELIGHT!! Bones, lace, delicate trinkets!

Skeleclips, by Ashley Holiday. Beauty can be bone deep.

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I am not done yet with beautiful things that must go on your head: The creations of Christal Blu! Although she does not appear to have anything available in her Etsy shop, I'm sure she does custom orders. I hope some of these photos showcase the a-la-ka-sass of these hats!

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Flip N Tribal by JoDee Ewing: Think punk, lace, and belly dancing. Such luscious and amazing pieces. I got to chat with her a bit, and her genuine love of her work and textures, colors, and all that is fabric were quite apparent. What I really enjoyed were her hand dyed pieces. I love color to a crazy degree, and her choices were simply divine. For example, she hand dyed a color that blew my mind: a soft, antique rose pink that is also rich and dense with itself. Basically, a saturated soft hue. Amazing.

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Nacreous Alchemy makes precious scenes in shadowboxes, and the detail is mind boggling.

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Jewels of Miehana is its very own dreamscape of sparkles, shiny, precious, and made me want to roll in their booth.

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And now for more Artists. Yup-yup, people making pictures and sharing them with the world.

First up is The Mighty Squirm, apparel and art with romance and a slight chill.

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Also impressive is Todd Robey, with his vibrant and spooky characters!

Check them out, appreciate, enjoy!

Happy Friday, we survived the week

Kina Grannis Music Video By Greg Jardin

22 months. Jellybeans. A rotating army of people. All shot in camera, CGI-free. Pure. Awesome.

If you like having your mind blown, you MUST watch the behind the scenes.

And this video has made it to the inspiration section of my blog, and therefore deserves a letter, as if the person I was writing it to will read it. I actually have the honor of sending this to him. So, here you are internet.

Dear Greg Jardin,
Congrats. You blew my mind. There were many ways to make this music video: CGI, cheats, smoke and mirrors. All valid, all effective, all would have taken a lot less time. The path you chose was the hardest and the most beautiful. There is a special look, an authenticity I cannot describe, when things are kept as pure as moving jelly beans around, then taking a picture. There is an element of magic you were able to bring forth in this video - the little shudders of the jelly beans reflecting the light - even when a frame has the opportunity to be still, you were not still. Every frame, the jelly beans move, twist, giggle.
Your dedication to the quality of an end result is more than enviable, its something I hope to do someday, even with all those sleepless nights this must have taken.
You may be content that no one will look at jellybeans the same again after seeing this video.

I look forward to more of your amazing work.
Good job at making the world beautiful.
- Krisztianna

uTales has officially launched!

uTales, a place to enjoy quality picture books anywhere and anytime on your iPad, iPhone or laptop is here! Not only is it creative content for all ages, direct from artists and storytellers, uTalers are building schools in developing countries by supporting Pencils of Promise with part or all of our earnings! Just $2 equals a week of education for a child in need.

Sign up for a 15 day free trial, or go get the free app!!

My work isn't ready yet, but you will know when it is because I will announce my participation with uTales app proudly, and then you will be able to read all about Swoop and Chitter and their adventures in the DANGER ZONE! My story is targeting ages 4-6, but I am hoping its charm will win over as many ages as possible.

This weekend is COMIKAZE and BATS DAY – come to both!

This weekend coming up is full of excitement, and I am thrilled to be partaking in the joy of it.

SATURDAY, November 5th I am going to the COMIKAZE expo!

Its only $12, its the first one, ever, and its in Los Angeles, California. Think: comics, gaming, horror, sci-fi, fantasy and anime. Its like COMICON, but smaller, less crazy, and brand new. I have no idea what to expect, and I'm excited to see what new artists I will find. If the pictures of my adventures come out, expect a re-cap post.
Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, California 90015

And SUNDAY, November 6th, I'll be at The Bats Day Holiday Black Market.

I will be at Sarah E. Kushner's booth, because her art is beautiful and I want people to buy it and fill their lives with it. She holds down a creatively demanding, full-time job, raising kids, and spending the wee hours in darkness of late nights and early mornings doing her art. I call her crazy, and admire her while I call her crazy. If you have not already, check out her facebook page, etsy shop, and come to BATS DAY. Think boutique + original art + awesome clothes + punk + goth + pop
Come say hello, enjoy the art, and plan for an art filled, lovely weekend!!
November 6th 2011; 1pm - 9pm
Located @ the Doubletree Guest Suites Anaheim Resort
2085 South Harbor Blvd Anaheim CA 92802
All ages
$5 VIP shopping first hour (1pm-2pm)
includes a limited edition art piece for the first 100 people.
$2 General Admission 2pm - 9pm
All paid attendees will receive 1 raffle ticket for prizes. More tickets can be purchase to better chances.

Til' Death, revised by *sarah-e-kushner on deviantART

Ghost in the Graveyard II by *sarah-e-kushner on deviantART

Open letter to Barbara Canepa and Alessandro Barbucci

Another artist(s) has made it to the inspiration category of this blog. Therefore, a letter from me to the both of them (since they collaborate) is required by recently established custom.

Dear Barbara Canepa and Alessandro Barbucci,

I am ashamed. My wonderful internet, with Tumblr, Comic Streams, and Daily Art feeds I subscribe to have not featured you...once...Until today, I did not know of you, and this is as much my fault as the internet's for favoring certain circles of artists. I think I am making amends because instead of working, I spent a good 1/2 hour scouring images and french blogs for recent snippets of what you have been up to. I can safely say that I have developed a visual obsession with your character named "Noa", and I will be purchasing all 3 comix in the Sky Doll series.

The weird part is, I found you both through Facebook because an artist I follow "liked" an album that was "liked" by one of you and I saw a beautiful profile image...and here I am. Maybe in a way the internet finally figured it out: "Show her, and she shall click!" and I did. And Wow.

Expressive eyes and soft hues punched with strong, movement-filled lines have made an impression on me. I want to know more about those characters. I have read nothing (YET!), but the seemingly thoughtful stream behind the eyes, the implied emotional sensitivity of a sexually charged figure, it all leaves me caring about what they are doing, and why. Also, thank you for being both a writer and an illustrator. Seeing that combination is inspiring for my future goals as an artist.

I look forward to more your work, your collabs, and reading/seeing what you have already created,

Krisztianna

P.S. I guess I owe the internet a thanks after-all. If it wasn't for it, I'm not sure how much longer I would have had to go without the influence of your visions.

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And now for links for all you readers: FLY internet! Take these clicks and share the beautiful pictures with the world!

Alessandro Barbucci His blog - check it out! The art...AHH THE ART!!!

Barbara Canepa Her Facebook, her blog, in 2007 she created a new publishing pop label which makes me want to learn french really quick: VENUSDEA.

And a link to the series I am excited to read, SKY DOLL, le site!

October of Wishes and Hard Work

It has been a few weeks too long since the last post, and you are due for an update which I am happy to give.

AVAST! I have moved! Yes. That behemoth of boxes, lost brushes, and stressed out cats has been tamed into piles of precious things in desperate need of sorting so they can be found. The studio had to be gutted, boxed, moved, and is still being unpacked. For a while I felt like a sailor with no boat. I hope that metaphor implied feelings of a goal without a beloved vessel to achieve that goal. But finally there is a chair to sit on, a desk to draw on, and drawers with art making implements. Upon finishing moving in, new photos will be uploaded so that you can see the new setup.

LIMITED EDITION PRINTS! Sam at GicleeLA has been a saint. For the sake of art, he has gone out of his way to meet me after hours in parking lots around Los Angeles and weekend meetups so that it can be finally said: the limited edition prints for "Birth Of Density" have been ordered. The first batch of 24, which are part of the Sleepless package, will be available first. They are ordered and printing! A special thanks to Sam, his great attitude, and his patience with an artist who also has a full-time job  I am so please to be able to say I have my first Artist's Proof.

MORE SKETCHES? My sketches will be few and far between....but hopefully I will be updating my blog with pieces of a story I'm creating for...

UTALES! I hope to finish in-time to be part of uTales and their initial launch into the world. It will be my first book created directly for a tablet. The story, called "The Flight Of Swoop And Chitter : Danger Zone!" is already written and laid out, and hopefully I will manage to keep my watercolors simple but still interesting so as to finish it soon. I consider this a test flight into uTales, my new characters, and this small story. If there is enough interest I might do more.

COLORING BOOK? Haha, YES! The coloring book is STILL HAPPENING! And here you are, a link to the timeline of registering a trademark. Oh the joy. Hopefully I will be of sound mind enough to update this blog when a large step goes through, so that anyone reading may be inspired to start their own brand as well!

Hey, Krisztianna..what happened to Panda's Perfect Pocket? The vision for that particular story has specific, rich imagery. I have decided to put that story aside until there is time to finish it to the quality desired. It was a frustrating conclusion...but art is few things if not frustrating.

WISHES! Comicon 2012, I hope that you will accept my application to be part of the Small Press booth, or maybe in some weird magical-warp longshot: Artist's Alley. November 2011 seems to be the bearer of the news of who got in, and who didn't. Request and samples have been sent. Here's to wishing. I will share the news either way.

A merry Wednesday to you all 

Update On Coloring Book

So, my "Fantasy Creatures" coloring book, the one that has been "ready to come out" for almost a year now...It appears I have found even more ways to delay its coming into the world. I realized I don't want to put out just one coloring book; I want to make several. People need to find it easily and not worry about spelling my name, or worrying about finding naked octopus women when they DO spell my name right and they just want to see pictures of baby dragons. I plan on being productive for years to come, and I want to be able to separate the kids games and coloring, which I LOVE to do, and my personal work.

So I am making a brand to release my children's activities under: coloring books, activity books, tablet apps! This means trademarking, paperwork, more waiting for approvals....etc. Its a long process to release a little coloring book, but I see it as the first of many.

There are already revisions in the works to what you see below, a character tentatively named "Arty". For example, the hat has been replaced, and hes got some dapper clothes, OH MY! I will post when hes done. He might be the symbol of my brand. I wanted to share this bead of a thought with you, because process can be just as fun as the end product. Happy Wednesday!

Dustin Farrell, I’ve got my eye on you

I recommend this time lapse in full screen.
And now, my letter directly to the artist/director/filmmaker because this made it to the "inspiration" category of my blog:

Dear Dustin Farrell,

Thank you for bringing such dramatic, distinct, humbling, and inspiring imagery of Arizona and Utah to the comfort of my screen. The essence you have distilled into a concentrated tincture of galactic-eyeball-euphoria is overwhelming. I have this video bookmarked, and I will be viewing it frequently as my 3E's inspiration. 3E's are my way of describing when something has 3 important factors that make the "HOLY SH*TBALLS THAT'S AMAZING" effect, and one day I will be able to imbue art with its magiks. My quick breakdown:
Is it Epic? Is it Elemental? Does it evoke Emotion? The answer is yes, YES, AWWW Yes.

So, thank you. Keep going. Keep making.  And I'm sure your team (and wife!) are proud of this stunning project.

Sincerely,

Krisztianna

Landscapes: Volume Two from Dustin Farrell on Vimeo.