UCQ page 1

I'm trying to finally buckle down and tackle some of this comic I've been wanting to work on since last year!

I need to replace the text with a nice font at some point. There will (I hope) be more of Meredith and her older sister soon(ish...).

Arranging My Home Studio

OK so I set up my home studio at the beginning of this month (after having moved all my stuff from my city centre studio between Friday and Sunday, boo!) and, as it so happens, "hourly comics day" was on the Saturday. Well, I've never done the hourlies challenge before and I didn't do too well this time (only jotted a few sketches really), but I decided to carry one of the sketches to final.

I quite like the finished piece. I enjoy attempting these little challenges. I might try "witchsona" next...

((And, in case you were wondering, that cropped knit pullover is from Urban Outfitters and it's in the sale right now.))

I've been planning things and doing a lot of  personal drawing/design exercises recently. I'm hoping to have more visuals to show more regularly as it's been a little quieter than I'd like on the blog of late. One thing I'd like to do more of is patterns and lettering (though the latter to a lesser extent perhaps) so I'll try to post some of the process/experiments along the way.

Here are some photos of the home studio...

NYC, Bahamas, Pink sketchbook

The past three weeks have been SO great! I got to visit some super lovely friends in New York and go to the American Illustration 32 party. It was a blast. Plus I got to go back home to The Bahamas for the first time in two years! Well overdue. Wish I'd taken photos of everything, though!

I don't have any finished work I'm allowed to show right now, but I have a few pics* of my current sketchbook. It's a bound sketchbook which I usually sort of hate, but actually I like this one. More on my tumblr.

*pics from my (new! yay!)phone because I still need to install my scanner/printer on my new laptop

Nyarai the Nomad

Voila! My contribution to Light Grey Art Lab's Rolemodels show: Nyarai the Nomad.

I've been sitting on this since June and now I'm finally able to show it. I had a lot of different ideas at first, but eventually settled on this design. The concept behind the show is that the roleplay characters created for the game cards represent the artist who designed the card. So how is this character at all like me (other than her obvious preference for warm/hot climes)?

Nyarai the Nomad: Desert Dweller & Voice of the Unheard

"Nyarai is now a solitary desert dweller. She has never been particularly gregarious, as she makes her voice heard not with words, but by action. At fourteen, she first realised the power of her actions as she led a herd of wild camels through her city to overthrow the mad empress. The citizens were liberated, but the downfall of the empress was not the end of their problems."

Take from that what you will. If you fancy it, pick up a print!

And, just because I thought my initial attempts at drawing a camel were funny, here are some of the sketches for the above.

All the contributing artists have made phenomenal work so if you're in the area, definitely check out the show (and go in costume)! Or if you can't make it down (like me :( boo!), you can at least pre-order a deck and admire all the work while trouncing your friends in a rousing game of Rolemodels:The Battle for Vyk'Tornaahl!

Impatient

Amidst a slew of meetings and plans during a big transition period, I've started a new project this week and I'm experimenting with what to do with it. Got a little frustrated/impatient early on in the process with the image below and it just wasn't going any further than this today :(

I feel a strange compulsion to do away with digital for a while and get my hands dirty... but I also sometimes despise traditional materials (despite their beauty) because they're often messy and/or inconvenient. Sometimes they're super convenient, though, in that they feel so immediate. We'll see where this ends up later.

Empty Lolita

I actually didn't expect to make another Illustrator post so soon, but I am still pluggin' away at it.

Today I was doodling lots of little things and one was a little book cover/poster for a book I will probably never read (no offence, Vladimir Nabokov...also sorry I forgot to slap your name on the doodle). I quite liked the sketch so I did a version in Illustrator.

I don't know if the Illustrator doodle is as clear as the pencil sketch (she is sitting at a desk), but  I'm thinking maybe I'll do more of these quick book-inspired illustrations just for fun and practice.

However, that's not ALL I did with my week! Yesterday I sat down and taught myself some InDesign by revamping my illustration CV. I'm still not totally pleased with it yet, but it's not bad for a first try. I hope to be able to use these newfound skills I'm cultivating to help me realise more of my ideas because I've got a lot of 'em! (And too many only half-baked...!)

Growing Illustrator

Here are a few sketches I did in Illustrator. It does seem like quite a nifty, fun tool even if I don't quite know how to make the best use of it or how to use it to make beautiful text yet...

Blobby Brush Tool

colours added using the Pen Tool

pencil tool

And more practice with the Pen Tool (excuse the rudeness)!

It seems weird to "sketch" this way because everything is so super clean and doesn't resemble what I consider to be a sketch at all. It has certainly helped me expand my understanding of what a sketch can be and to think about my process in a different way.

Armchairs

A selection of armchairs.

Also...

Foray into the World of Illustrator CS5

This year was the first year that I made any serious New Year's resolutions and, halfway through the year, I'm pleased to say I am slowly but steadily making my way through my list.*
*For illustration goals anyway. My personal NYR list is ongoing and includes exponentially more difficult things like 'stressing less'.

One of my goals was to tackle a new programme (preferably Illustrator or InDesign...or maybe both. The year is young!) and last night I took the plunge and started exploring Illustrator.

Here are the fruits of my (equal parts fun, frustrating and taxing) labour.

This mess of graffiti may not look like much to you, but it was great playing around with the look of the letters after the basic structure was set up and watching my freehand lines become instantly smooth.

edit 5/7/13: speaking of "playing around" I just found this post which I think is super relevant! : )

Sketchbook excerpts

Some character design (plotting stories). Let's see where this goes...

A Full Plate

I'm working on so many things at the moment and moving house at the end of the month. A lot of things feel up in the air and, oddly, these doodles I did last month seem to fit how I'm feeling right now.

F.U. pile

I was working on this with the intention of using it for something, but it took until I was this far in to fully appreciate that it just wasn't going to work for what I wanted to use it for. So now I'm going in a different direction with that project and this will have to be left in the Forever Unfinished pile.

Lounger

I'm trying to reign in a foul mood brought on by saving over an image I was working on with a smaller version of it, but actually some great things have come to pass in the last few days. Besides, it was just a practice piece to get comfortable with working on a graphics tablet again. After my graphics tablet freaked out and my computer exploded (unconnected events) I got a Wacom Bamboo tablet to replace my 9(nine!) year old Wacom Graphire3.

Also, can anyone tell me why the colours in the above image have turned out flat and weird? When I open the file in Photoshop the chair is more red than brown (as it's supposed to be), but when I upload it here or elsewhere it's brown and the whole thing looks a little flat..?

I think I actually prefer this cut-off version to the whole thing...might do something with it.

YET, for some reason, when I screengrab and compare the two there's a definite (to my eye) difference and the redder chair doesn't turn all flat/brown in the screengrab.. what do??

On another note, this image was born of the sketch that made me realise that I really like drawing comfy chairs...

Lady Knights

Some friends are putting together a WOMEN WARRIORS zine that I'm super stoked (and also terribly intimidated) to contribute to!! The above are a few sketches for it (does anyone watch Voyager? Those B'Lanna drawings were mostly just for fun though...).

Rescue Attempt

I'm considering putting more of my sketches up instead of some of the less successful attempts to refine them.

Blacksmiths, Fighters and (Invisible) Monks*

I've been working on this one thing for ages now and I finally finished it yesterday. I'm going to post the finished piece later, but just thought I'd put up some of the sketches that led to the final.

Gossip

I want to draw/paint MORE MOUTHS!

♥

Water

Been doing some traditional stuff to loosen my tight brain.

And soon all my inhibitions will fall away and something fresh and exciting will emerge.

♥

A Blue Tit

Can you guess which social media network I have finally joined!? YAY!

I am @nicolemillu

Hopefully it will be filled with wonder and friendship and chirpings (rather than terror and lawsuits and pain like my deepest fears would have me believe). If any of you guys are on there, drop me a tweet. It would be great to see some familiar people!

♥

Viking Dudes

Apparently they were not as brutish and unclean as popular belief would suggest! Nor did they wear horn-hats...Or drink from horn flasks...Next thing you know they'll be telling us they didn't actually have magical Norse god powers. hah!

Nonetheless, I am a fan of horn-hats and hammers! So the next time I post about Vikings it will probably (hopefully!) involve some fact-bending horn-hats.

Also, on Thursday 1st March 2012*, I launched my official website! YAY! Please go have a look see :)

WWW.NICOLEMILLO.COM

*That day was also St. David's Day and World Book Day! Did you know?

♥