Mini-update

Just a little more P on my WIP: 

Getting some line art in and sketching in my lighting and background (ground-ground) colors (the final result will be more vibrant...just throwing in some rough ideas for myself).

I haven't really done a lot of faces from strange angles or body from strange angles and this is certainly a challenge and I pretty much expect to screw it up. I definitely lost some of the softness that was in the face in the sketch, but the sketch wasn't really proporitonally accurate, so. :P 

EDIT: aaannnnddd I just realized that, with the sun coming from the top left, it won't be shining through the balloon onto her face. Stupid directional lighting. 

additional

Oh, I forgot to mention in my post yesterday -- I finished my work for my giant freelance project! 

More or less. 

I finished the first versions of the original agreed-upon pieces. I may still be asked to make a few changes, AND my client mentioned in his last email that he might be interested in paying me more money to do a few more pieces for some extended shots. I don't yet know if I'm going to because I enjoy being a part of this project, but being only able to work a couple hours a day, everything takes a really long time and I haven't been letting myself work on personal stuff on the weekends while I still had freelance pending. But I don't want to drop the project prior to where my client feels it's complete. Plus, hey, more money. 

Anyway. That. 

Also, starting something new for my workday warmups: 

Obviously still utterly rough. Just the sketch. Working on awkward perspectives. 

Still Here

Sorry for the lack of updates. Not a lot new to report on the RSI front -- just a lot of more of the same: I'm frustrated, sometimes I think it's getting better but then sometimes it gets worse, it makes me sad, where's my robot hand. 

Art-wise, a few sketches aside, I spent a while working on a submission for Neil Gaiman's Calender of Tales. I did one for the Jan Tale. It has tentacles. And explosions. I think it's pretty cool: 

It's gotten barely any attention on my deviant art page, which is always annoying when you worked hard on something, but Mr. Gaiman himself reblogged it on tumblr, so it's gotten scads of love there, so I'm  not terribly disgruntled. 

Also, since I still haven't gotten a picture of my friend in the shirt I made for her birthday, I'm just giving in and uploading the image: 

I had it printed for her on a dark grey tshirt, and it's pretty cute. 

I don't really have much of anything else to say. Just thought I was due an update and should post some of the stuff that I've been working on. 

Bad Weekend

Stiff hand all weekend and I don't know why. 

Feels better today and I don't know why. 

I keep putting off calling my orthopedic specialist because I don't know what they are going to be able to tell me that they haven't already, but I might have to this Friday because this whole better-then-worse-then-better but never healing thing is not okay, and I need to know if I'm ever going to get better or if I may as well just give up on my illustration career today.

Did a silly silly picture last week and also some studies, which I share with you now.

Bad Fan Art

My tendinitis continues to fluctuate. 

I'm trying to simultaneously be scientific about various methods of treatment and avoid further injury. 

I am currently taking a break from my 5,000,000 ibuprofen routine and I don't THINK I've seen a big difference one way or the other. Some days it's a bit worse, some days it's a bit better though the trend SEEMS to be towards generally better, I've thought that many times throughout the past 7 months. 

Yesterday I pushed a little hard and went home with inflamed and sore hands, and expected them to be pretty miserable today, and was surprised to wake up to them being pretty okay...but I did deviate from my scientific routine in slathering the backs of my hands in topical anelgesic, so. 

The annoying thing is that the thing I pushed too hard on I'm...not really happy with. A bit of Valentinesy fan art that I liked fairly well in the sketch phase, but less and less as it neared completion and can now see that it has a lot of flaws in things like...well, anatomy. 

Yet again I find myself simmering with frustration, as the officially prescribed cure for bad drawing is to practice a lot. Which I was doing and and broke myself and now can only limp along at. GRR! 

Anyway, you can take a gander at my anatomically iffy Valentine's Day fan art of Jim Moriarty beeing a creeper: 

(*Edit* Ahh just realized that I once again used the same WIP names for my WIPs and my website grabbed the new drawings off my computer so no bad Moriarty drawings here right now!) (No this was not my plan all along.) (oh okay there are 2 left) (crappy fan art with awful hand anatomy for you.)

WIPs: 

Final Image

Welp.

That's that.

Hope you have a great Valentine's Day, whether you are chasing down consulting criminals or strapping old ladies with semtex vests.