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I tore through the ARC of POSSESSION this week (it releases in June) and I loved this book...so much so that my poor laundry basket overflowed to the point that my 6-yo suggested I buy a second basket. I loved the relationship between Vi and Jag, and Elana did a fantastic job of world-building. I told Elana my only issue was where the book ended...and I meant that in a good way. I turned the last page, like "What? It can't end here." I won't give anything away, but I told her I need the second book, like now. If you like dystopian, this is a must read book. Elana is also hosting a super awesome contest on her FB page and the details are here. I don't know if I'm allowed to say what everyone who enters will get, but it's really cool. Here's the cover and blurb for POSSESSION:

I tore through the ARC of POSSESSION this week (it releases in June) and I loved this book...so much so that my poor laundry basket overflowed to the point that my 6-yo suggested I buy a second basket. I loved the relationship between Vi and Jag, and Elana did a fantastic job of world-building. I told Elana my only issue was where the book ended...and I meant that in a good way. I turned the last page, like "What? It can't end here." I won't give anything away, but I told her I need the second book, like now. If you like dystopian, this is a must read book. Elana is also hosting a super awesome contest on her FB page and the details are here. I don't know if I'm allowed to say what everyone who enters will get, but it's really cool. Contest ends: 4/28. Here's the cover and blurb for POSSESSION:

• Use your lasso tool as a pen to draw your shape.


• Fill in with the bucket tool either a color or pattern.


• Add an Effects>Apply Surface Texture


• Add an Effects>Objects>Create drop Shadow

Here's a cover that will catch your attention!

Kiriel is one of the demons of Hell who guards over the minions reflecting their souls back to them. It's a gig he's done since the Rebellion. But he's tired. The Boss doesn't notice him, the Creator doesn't notice him, and frankly, he's sick and tired of the misery.

Time for a vacation.

The vacation's name is Shaun. Shaun is a typical, run-of-the-mill teen who is about to get run down by a cement mixer. Kiriel steps in seconds before the event, and while Shaun is no more, Kiriel is happy to start another existence.

Kiriel chose Shaun specifically because he has some autonomy, but doesn't have to truly take care of himself. Kiriel is soon experiencing a teenage boy lifestyle, and while his style is a bit different from Shaun's, he is doing quite well!

The beauty of this title for me is the fact that author A.M. Jenkins explores some pretty heavy territory, including not only the nature of life itself, but our place in it and our appreciation of it. While the viewpoint is a Christian one, the story and message are definitely universal in scope. The fact that Jenkins can get the voice of a teenage boy so well is part of what makes this such an authentic story. While readers wait and see how long Kiriel can get away with hijacking Shaun, we simply enjoy Kiriel's quest to get noticed and to live this life he has taken to its fullest.

I'm calling it "Done"!
There was a lot of experimentation, moving back and forth between Painter X and PS. It was a real learning experience (complete with the prerequisite kinks along the way) but I'm finding my footing with Painter, and the Painter / PS combo. I could have continued working on this, but I needed to finish it, for psychological reasons as well as time frame reasons - I have other work I need to accomplish, too :) . It's hard to know when enough's enough, when you are trying so many different things. Despite all of the new tools I used, I think it holds together very well. YAY for Completion!!

I brought this piece into PS to continue working on it. I'm making more headway and am able to tie in my visual elements as well as the palette better in PS. I just know how to accomplish my goals more expediently in PS, and I wanted to make some headway. It's coming along nicely!

This is the progress I've made on this illustration thus far. I've been doing it solely in Painter X. I like how this is progressing but, honestly if I had done it in PS I'd have completed this three times over by now. I guess it is all a part of the learning curve and I know that it is worthwhile to struggle through the process. It's just tough when you're in the middle of it.

There are things I wish I could easily do in P X that I haven't figured out how to do yet. (I'm sure there is a way, but I have not taken the time to figure it out yet because I am clamoring to finish this piece.) These same things are easy for me to do in PS. But back-and-forth between P X and PS just won't work for me right now, so I would need to complete work in P X, then bring the whole enchilada into PS. If P X and PS can't be integrated into one program (in my dreams), I at least wish that they were easy to ping-pong work in, back-and-forth.

I think that, in the name of expediency and consistency, I'm going to start my next project in PS and then see how it goes from there. Maybe I'll find things work better starting out in PS?

Here is a detail of a piece I am creating in Painter X. It's a work in progress and this is just a portion of it, but I wanted to post something I'd done exclusively in Painter. This will be my first piece which is almost-all or entirely created in Painter. (The last piece I did in Painter was started in Painter but was mainly done in PS.) I'm still not sure how PS and P X will work together - - or not. Will it be too unintuitive to move into PS after working in P X? does it make sense to? Will I devise a set plan that works for/with both? We'll see. For now, I need to get the basics of P X under my belt and just use it as much as I can.

I'm learning some important things to abide by when working in Painter X:

Utilizing the customized Workspace and customized Palettes is pretty important to my overall productivity in Painter X. There are SO many tools to paint and draw with, and SO many options for said tools, it's dizzying, and it can really be a big black hole unless a good system is devised. I am at the tail end of the experimental stage where I want to see how EVERYTHING works. But what's starting to happen is that I am beginning to (finally!!) gravitate towards a few certain tools which I will use most of the time. Now, my next move is to create some customized Palettes that are very limited in scope so that I can be more productive overall. I'll explain it this way - picture yourself as a 2 year old kid in F.A.O Schwarz. You really like this one toy witht he sparkling lights and the horn noise, but what if there is an even BETTER toy on the next shelf over? And then, what if THAT toy is also a gummi worm candy dispenser? In some ways, it's like an artist's ADD fantasy/nightmare. It's really, really easy to get distracted by the availability of so many options. So you must discover your own plan of action and then stay in scope.

Key commands are very important, especially with the Cintiq.
I do have a keyboard now set up for use with my Cintiq, but learning the key commands helps a lot. I can't seem to find one definitive source/document for Painter key commands. If anyone knows where I can get one, please let me know if you have a sec.

Here is the final Wishing On A Star illustration.

See the previous stage of the painted version.

See the original pencil sketch it is based on.

After being positively stymied by some issues I've been experiencing in Painter X, I went to the best online Painter forum I've found thus far, ConceptArt, and asked some questions there. In less than 12 hours I got a response from a Painter ninja. The Painter ninja also has her own web site for Painter people, PixelAlley.com. I've yet to fully investigate it, but on first look it lookslike one of the best Painter resource sites I've found (maybe it will turn out to be THE best one).

I'm learning Painter again, and although it is a program well worth diving into the deep end of, I'm having a heck of a time figuring out some of these tools.

My "huh??" list (for the moment):

Why can't I have more than one Brush Library loaded at the same time, when some of the Brush Libraries seem to consist of only one type of brush?

How does one use the paper textures? I've tried following directions and I'm getting nothing. I'm sure it's likely just one simple step I am not doing, but I don't know what that simple step is..


Here's tonights Painter learning experiment: 80's New Wave rocker chick. (She is SO Dale Bozio from Missing Persons!)

Nell Painter, author of Creating Black Americans: African-American History & Its Meanings, 1619 to the Present was a winner of the 22nd annual Myers Outstanding Book Awards, which recognize exemplary works that challenge social injustices, erase histories, and the pessimism that says change is impossible. Below is Painter’s acceptance letter.

This article first appeared in the Gustavus Myers Center’s Winter 2007 newsletter. (more…)

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Here's another quick sketch/painting/thing, about 30 mins in total.

Here's the Painter sketch....

...and here's the finished Photoshopped result...



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Here's a quick painting I did in the last 20 mins, just trying things out in Painter and then taking it through to Photoshop.... it wasn't going to be a self portrait but somehow lots of my sketches end up as one...




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