This is the final of the 2010 Valentine's Day special for Green Corner, featuring Alshina and Koru. If you look closely, you may notice a special surprise detail :)

I hope you enjoy this spot illustration. It will also be available in prints on RedBubble soon.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Previously:
Valentine Background Progress (Part 2)
Background Progress (Part 1)
Shading
Flat Colour
Vector Line Work
Pencil Sketch

Labels: art, green corner, illustration, vector

More progress on the background for the upcoming Green Corner special this time. The changes to the sky, grass, and lake as well as the addition of the trees in the background really helped the mood become more romantic. I am quite happy with the sunset, in particular. You may recognize the trees in the background from my Lady with a Fan illustration as well as Alice and the Garden. I just changed the colour scheme for them.

The final is temporarily up as a TWC incentive and will be shared here soon.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the work in progress for this illustration.

Previously:
Background Progress (Part 1)
Shading
Flat Colour
Vector Line Work
Pencil Sketch

Labels: art, green corner, illustration, vector, work in progress

This was the very beginning of the background being added. It was pretty rough, aside from the cherry tree. I used this photo as reference for the tree, but I obviously simplified it a fair bit. The rest of the background was mostly blocking in basic shapes and colours.

I decided I wanted to have a sunset in the background at this point, but it didn't really come together until the next step. I also fixed the colours for the grass, sky, and lake in the next step to make them more natural. I found it helpful to take a quick look at some photos of sunsets to plan how I would include the sun and how to better use a gradient for the coloured sky. But in this step, the sky wasn't quite working. I had been experimenting with both linear and radial gradients, but I decided it was best to step away for a bit after I got to this point as it's always helpful to look at a real sky when trying to emulate it in an illustration.

I hope you're enjoying the progress posts on this piece. I'm still deciding how to finish up, but I think the next step is very close. You can expect to see the end result soon :)

Previously:
Shading
Flat Colour
Vector Line Work
Pencil Sketch

Labels: art, green corner, illustration, vector, work in progress

Two progress images this time, but there isn't a huge difference between them so I'm sharing them together.
The bottom image here is the final shading for the figures, aside from some minor changes that I made later. I used a little feathering for some of the shading and shine details on Alshina's dress and Koru's tie.

I started editing Koru's proportions here, to make sure they were correct. I made some minor changes later, but here I was trying to fix his height as I initially made his legs too long. I've worked out his final height to be about 6' 4", while Alshina is 5' 8". He's a little taller than I was originally planning, but I think it will help add some more variety, as most of the characters are pretty tall.

Previously:
Flat Colour
Vector Line Work
Pencil Sketch

Labels: art, green corner, illustration, vector, work in progress

Further progress on the Valentine's Day special for Green Corner, the flat colour this time. Most of the colour scheme was set at this point for the figures. Shading and shine was added in the next step.

As I mentioned previously, I found that colouring the line work in this step also helped to soften details, particularly the eyes.


Previously:
Vector Line Work
Pencil Sketch

Labels: art, green corner, vector, work in progress

Here's the initial digital line work for the upcoming Valentine's Day special for Green Corner. Alshina and Koru are featured in this one, in human form. I tried a different style for the eyes this time, but it's a little difficult to see how well it works at this stage. I coloured the lines when I did the flat colour, which helps soften things a fair bit, but I may adjust things further as I do the shading. Mostly, I don't want it to look like Koru is wearing eyeliner. But I like the way Alshina's eyes turned out, so it's something I may try again in the future.

Hope you enjoy the sneak peek :)

In case you missed it or would like to compare, the pencil sketch for this was shared earlier, in this post.

Labels: art, green corner, work in progress

I started this sketch recently, on the 16th. The characters are Alshina and Koru, from my comic series, Green Corner. You may recognize them from a previous special, Valentine Kiss.

I made some small changes last night to Koru's clothing (the shirt collar and tie), but otherwise it's pretty much the same as when I started it. I'm still not completely sure about the way that Koru is holding Alshina's hand, as I want it to be a little softer and gentler, but that's something I can work on during the digital version.

I haven't fully decided on the background yet, but I'm thinking of making this illustration set outdoors with some trees. Cherry could be nice, or something unique to the fantasy world of Green Corner.

I did other sketches to try out more ideas with couples for a Valentine's Day special, but I think this one has the most promise. I actually had an idea something like this a couple years ago, but couldn't draw it out well enough then. It's nice to be able to tell how much I've progressed by being able to draw more complicated scenes. I will still have to make some adjustments to this, mostly to make sure that their relative heights are correct and refine some details.

I hope you like the sketch so far. I did this on scrap paper, so the type from the other side made some shadows when I darkened the scan. I hope you can see the idea clearly enough despite that, but there will be more detail in the digital version, of course.

Labels: art, green corner, sketches

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! In case you haven't seen my "Holiday Girls" illustration yet, here's the progress for my 2009 winter holiday special for Green Corner. (or feel free to skip to the end to see the final)

Labels: art, green corner, illustration, vector

Page twenty six of Green Corner has been published! (see preview below from one of the panels)

Labels: comics, green corner

Here's the 2009 Hallowe'en special for Green Corner. Aena is dressed as a 1980's inspired pop singer. I was influenced by Jem and the Holograms, as I mentioned earlier.

I'll be offering the ribbons as a free download soon. I couldn't find anything like them on the Adobe Exchange, so I'll upload them there too.

I hope you enjoy this image. I certainly had a lot of fun drawing it :)

Please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts on the image.


Previous posts about this piece:
Art Post: Pop Idol (part two)
Art Post: Pop Idol (part one)

Labels: aena, art, green corner, illustration, vector

Here's the fully shaded colour of Aena for the pop idol piece:


I have since added shading to the flower arrangement on the bow, they won't be quite so flat in the final. I have also been working on the background behind the scenes, but I'm going to wait a while before I share that. I may make some changes to the background closer to Hallowe'en, but I'm finding the image to be extremely bright, colourful, and cheerful in my working file.

It makes me wonder how I'm going to top it for the winter holiday special!

In case you missed it: part one is here and includes the pencil, digital line work, and flat colour.

Labels: aena, art, green corner, illustration, vector

Here's some progress from a piece I've been working on recently. I've been trying to come up with an idea of what Aena's Hallowe'en costume should be this year. A 1980's inspired pop idol sounded like a fun experiment. I was thinking a little about Jem and the Holograms when I was drawing this, and I think the positive energy is great for Aena.

Labels: aena, art, green corner, illustration, sketches, vector

Page twenty five of Green Corner has been published! (see preview below of one of the panels)

There are more panels than usual on this page, which helps push the story along a bit faster. It's closer to the outdoor scenes now.


The TWC incentive is black and white line art for an upcoming special. I'll probably be using it for the Hallowe'en special, but I had the chance to get a head start on it over the weekend. If you liked Jem and the Holograms and/or 1980's style, you'll probably like this one.


And a little note on the Green Corner story:
You may have noticed that Zalanda's purse seemed to disappear. I hope the way Suko's books appeared on this page give you a hint of what actually happened. The purse is with Zalanda all the time, but she's more subtle in her magick and hid it without calling attention to what she was doing. She prefers people notice her, not her magick. A lot of the females tend to be subtle with magick of this sort. Males tend to prefer quicker options, and "snap spells" are common among the guys in town (unless they're trying to show off!).

As for how that might affect security in the bookshop, the security system can detect even magickally hidden items. It also prevents fire magick.


Hope you enjoy the new page! There are also new progress images, the pencil for page 25, and new icons.

Labels: comics, green corner

Page twenty four of Green Corner has been published. Please visit the Green Corner website to see the update.

Progress images and Pencils listed in the image gallery have also been updated. New icons and an updated incentive will be added later.

I hope you enjoy the updates! :)

Labels: comics, green corner

If you've been reading my art blog for a while, you're probably familiar with my comic series, Green Corner. Zalanda is the primary antagonist of the series and the older sister of Aena, the protagonist. You can read Zalanda's character bio on the Green Corner site.

There are certain subtleties to the character relationships in Green Corner. Of course, I want the characters to have depth and be interesting, but I also want them to seem like they could be real people aside from the fantastic setting. I draw some inspiration from my own experiences for that kind of natural feeling, but none of the characters are really modeled after anyone I know. Aspects of their personalities may be similar to people I know, and some of the things they say may be quoted from life; but that's as far as it goes.

Zalanda is a character that I find a lot of people are drawn to at first. I think my character design for her is very successful in this regard. She's beautiful and curvaceous; she's got the kind of look that other girls and women are envious of (even if they won't openly admit it).

One of the things that bothered me growing up was the image of the female ideal that girls are exposed to. Zalanda is very much a commentary on how that type of image can be hurtful to the self-esteem of other girls. Girls are incessantly told and shown that the ideal woman is thin, with a small waist and large breasts. No matter how much you may try to tune it out, when an often impossible to achieve image is out there that much, it only encourages a division and sometimes an elitist attitude from people who feel that they are more important because of their physical appearance alone.

There's nothing wrong with taking pride in your appearance, of course. But there is a difference between caring about how you look and being elitist about your looks.

For Green Corner, I made a point of making Zalanda the gorgeous older sister with an abrasive personality. She has a sharp tongue and never hesitates to speak her mind. She can seem rather cruel and dismissive. That's an intentional commentary on how a supposed ideal of female beauty says nothing about a person's worth or personality. External beauty is only physical.

It may seem strange for me to say this, since I'm a visual artist and a graphic designer; but I don't think that physical beauty adds a great deal more value to anyone. I don't think that a physically beautiful person deserves more good fortune than a person with average looks.

Like Zalanda, a woman can look beautiful on the outside but also be a sour, selfish, petty person. Zalanda knows when she's being hurtful, but she doesn't care about the feelings of others for the most part. She is the type of person who craves attention and will bully others in an attempt to gain power over them and distract from her own flaws.

She is very much a combination of female bullies I've met in my life. She spreads lies, shuns people she dislikes, and leads the crowd for no apparent reason. She is superficially popular. Others may envy that for a time, until they come to the realization that she's not the type of person you want to emulate in terms of actions and/or personality. Rather, she's the type of mean girl that other girls are glad to see fall flat on her face in a sort of karmic retribution.

Self-worth is an objective thing, a personal thing. Improving your appearance for yourself is great, but doing so for attention from others could indicate you need to look more closely at your self-esteem. In Pathfinders, a friend of mine was once asked by one of our Leaders why she was wearing makeup at camp, as there were no boys around. My friend smartly retorted that she was wearing makeup for herself, not for boys. Experiences like that that really made Guiding memorable for me, and encouraged me to feel better about myself. WAGGGS is a great thing for girls and women to become involved in.

Green Corner is very much a series about teen girls, for teen girls. I have specifically developed characters such as Zalanda to encourage teen girls to think more about what it means to be physically attractive, and if it needs to mean much for them. But I also want girls reading the series to take comfort in characters like Aena who are openly frustrated and envious of the supposedly ideal body image. Aena sometimes finds it annoying to be dismissed as "cute" in comparison to her voluptuous sister. Like a lot of girls, she worries and feels insecure about herself at times; despite being genuinely well-liked by many people, skilled, and charming.


It's a normal thing, but it can feel very isolating when you're a teenager. We need more positive influences for girls and women. We should be giving more encouragement to appreciate our own achievements and assets. Being a teen is hard, you will probably struggle and stumble many times. But don't forget that you are worth something, regardless of the nonsense written in magazines. If you really think about it, you already know how amazing you are.

Other things to check out on the topic of self-esteem and the feminine "ideal:"

• Dove's campaign for real beauty – a refreshing campaign that encourages girls and women to recognize that beauty comes in many shapes and sizes. I love that this campaign is honest about Dove products too and doesn't make exaggerated claims about moisturizer making you look youthful. A moisturizer promotes healthy skin, nothing more.
• Girl Guides of Canada is a wonderful organization for girls as young as five through to adulthood that promotes knowledge and self-esteem. Outside of Canada, check out the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (go to the "Our World" section to find the member organization in your country).
• Sex, Lies, and Photoshop a commentary video from the New York Times about the extent of Photoshop retouching in magazines and whether it should be disclosed.
• David Airey is a professional graphic designer and discussed Sex, Lies, and Photoshop on his blog previously. I'm glad to see that both genders are concerned about the topic of retouching and how it encourages negative self-esteem.
• The Photoshop Effect blog post by Sarah of Diet.com is a companion to the video of her experience on a professional photo shoot and having her image retouched. There's also a second video where Sarah and experts further discuss retouching.
  

What do you think about the topic of the feminine "ideal?" Any more articles or videos you'd recommend? yecrqwzm7f

Labels: art, green corner, theory, writing

I posted the pencil for this drawing a while back, in this post.
And the inked linework is in this post.

Here's the Final Image (click to enlarge):

The final image can be purchased as a print on RedBubble, here.

I'm not sure if I want to add more detail to the background. If I do, I will update the RedBubble prints. Hope you like the image!


Are you are attending the Toronto Comics Art Festival on May 9-10, 2009?
If so, you can contact me directly for 8.5" x 11" prints (of any of the Green Corner specials or Alice Project drawings). These are $7 CAD, signed (if you don't want it signed, just let me know). Prints I make will have a white border around the edges.

I can give you a print (or prints) in person at TCAF, but you need to contact me first to set up a meeting and notify me so that I can bring prints with me. I'll just be walking around, so you might not spot me unless you know what I look like. If you do spot me, please say "hello" and ask for a card :)

You can e-mail me by clicking on a "contact me" link on my portfolio site. I don't think encryption works in the blog, sorry!

Labels: art, green corner, prints

I posted the pencil for this drawing a while back, in this post.

Here's the inked linework, created in Illustrator CS3:


I'm creating another tutorial with this image, and will be posting excerpts here when it's complete. Hope you like the image so far :)

Labels: art, green corner, illustration

Page twenty three of Green Corner has been published. Please visit the Green Corner website to see the update.

The TWC incentive is line work for an upcoming special/ vector tutorial (when I change the incentive, I will post the image here).

Other updates:

• Suko's profile now features an image of Suko.
• The characters page has some new icons.
• Progress images listed in the image gallery have been updated
• Pencils listed in the image gallery have been updated
• New icons have been added to the image gallery (all sizes)
  

I hope you enjoy the updates! :)

Labels: comics, green corner

These two-sided cards were printed, assembled, and trimmed by hand (so they're not all perfectly straight, unfortunately). The front is a pale yellow, but it scanned as white. The backs are a pale grey.

I made these to hand out when promoting my comic series, Green Corner. I will probably bring some of these cards with me to the TCAF next month. Please ask for one if you see me! I'm not a guest, but I plan to be there. If you're a Toronto area comic artist and plan to go to TCAF, please contact me. I would love to meet other comic artists in person!

Which of the back designs is your favourite? Feel free to leave a comment to let me know.

Labels: business cards, design, green corner

This is my vector of the three boys when they're introduced on page 23 (which is in progress). The panel is a crop of this art, and a fair bit smaller.

From left to right are Suko, Xico, and Mazai.

I kept their jacket designs pretty simple, but noticeably different from one another. Xico's jacket seems to have a bit of a Star Trek influence, but I was initially thinking of something more like a simplified racing jacket. I think I will keep it like this, and maybe add a subtle joke to the back of his jacket.

And here's my pencil sketch, before I adjusted their relative heights:

Labels: green corner, illustration, sketches, vector

Page twenty two of Green Corner has been published.

Please visit the Green Corner website to see the update.

The TWC incentive is a scan of some business cards I made to hand out when promoting Green Corner in person. I only made a small amount, assembling and trimming by hand. There's one front design, but various options for the back.

The business card preview has been moved to this post

Enjoy :)

Labels: comics, green corner

Page twenty one of Green Corner has been published.

Please visit the Green Corner website to see the update.

Enjoy :)

Labels: comics, green corner

I've been working on page 21 of Green Corner lately, and this image of Aena cringing is the first part of the page that I worked on digitally. It's also the only figure on this page that I didn't use pose reference for.

In the final page, this instance of Aena is mostly obstructed by the desk in the bookshop, but I wanted to share the whole figure here. For a more current progress image of the page, please vote for Green Corner on TWC.

Labels: comics, green corner

I've been sketching different figures today for page 21, which is one of those pages where there's more body language than action. This can be a little challenging when it comes to framing, to ensure that there's enough interest for the page while not sacrificing the most important aspects of the body language.

These sketches probably look a bit strange out of context, and Zalanda (on the right) will likely be flipped for the final. I used some pose reference for these, as my earlier sketches didn't have the right energy.The gist of this page is that Zalanda mocks Aena for being clumsy, to which Kasha objects with "That's not a very nice thing to say." It's Kasha's remark that Aena and Zalanda are reacting to here.

Obviously there are some mistakes that I'll be correcting in the digital version of these, but they're reasonably tight pencil sketches. There's something about Zalanda's expression and pose that reminded me again of my influence from Dan DeCarlo. I read Archie comics when I was a kid, but I'm not really sure when my illustrations started to show the influence of Dan DeCarlo's style. I think it's become more obvious in recent years, and now I tend to gravitate towards drawing female characters who look somewhat innocent yet flirtatious.

I always find it interesting to contrast Aena and Zalanda. The characters are sisters, but even if their physiques were more similar, they carry themselves in drastically different ways. Zalanda often poses in a way that exudes confidence and an unspoken, yet obvious "look at me." Aena is playful and energetic, but she can also be subdued as she is here. Aena has a greater range of emotion that she shows, so I have a lot of fun drawing her and experimenting.

Zalanda tends to be a bit more restrained with her emotions, and she will seem rather one-sided in the comic for the most part. If I haven't drawn her in a while, I also tend to find her more challenging, because her figure is extremely curvy, and I'm more accustomed to using proportions that are more natural (like Aena).

I hope you like this hint at what's to come for the next page of Green Corner.

Labels: green corner, sketches, traditional media

This is a pencil sketch of Suko from Green Corner. The model for the pose was Andrew, of FDF.

I thought this was a very interesting pose and instantly thought of Suko for this one. I plan to use this as a basis for a future vector illustration.

I know there's a little awkwardness with his right arm and hand, so I'll try to fix that in the digital. I'll probably make some adjustments to the clothing as well. It was tricky to approximate the folds in some parts, so I'll work on them some more.

Labels: green corner, sketches

I've finished another Green Corner special. This one features Aena in human form, lying on a chaise lounge. Photo reference was used for the chaise.

Illustrator CS3, about 9 hours.

And here's a close-up to see some of the detail (click the image to enlarge):
I modified my colouring method a little for this image. The line work is in different colours and I feathered some of the shine to make it more subtle. I also rendered her eyes a little differently, using lines to add some detail without getting too cartoony. The only black in this image is her pupils, and I think that really helps the image feel more soft and elegant.

Desktop wallpapers of this special available on request. I hope you enjoy the image.

Labels: aena, green corner, illustration

If you've followed my comic series, Green Corner, for a while; you've probably noticed that I tend to make adjustments from the pencil stage to the final digital image. In the earlier pages, I often corrected proportions as well as relative sizes of characters and objects.

Now, I make far less adjustments of that kind and find it easier to double-check things while hand-rendering. I check proportions a few times while I draw by hand, to minimize the need for digital corrections.

I know how to draw in perspective, and what looks correct. But I sometimes have a little trouble with things like the sales desk in the bookshop. In my head, I know the size that I want for the desk, but I'm not actually using reference.

Professionally, I use more reference to ensure correctness; but Green Corner is a personal project (and a learning project) that I have the option of editing at my discretion. For the most part, I don't use reference for Green Corner. The problem with this is that it can be difficult to translate what I see in my head to what I draw on a page; which I think happens to a lot of artists.

I was recently working on page twenty of Green Corner; one of the more complex and detailed pages.

I wanted both Zalanda and Alshina to be mostly visible in the first panel, but I placed them a little too close to each other and made them a little too large in my pencil to allow the desk to fit naturally between them. Initially, I wasn't sure about including the desk, but I added it and other scenic elements to the page for interest. I adjusted the desk as well as the size of the characters in that panel for the digital version.

The desk is seen at various angles and in relation to various characters many times in the first twenty pages of Green Corner. I often find myself adjusting the perspective of the desk, to ensure that it's correctly rendered when it appears. If the angle appears too steep, it can make an entire page look awkward.

I prefer to digitally render the more geometric scenic elements in Green Corner, regardless of whether or not I sketch them out by hand. I can fix things when I re-work pages digitally, but when making detailed pencils, I want to limit later adjustments.

I think part of the problem I have with rendering things like the desk in pencil is that I'm used to drawing at a single size. When I draw characters of different heights, I often reduce a sketch with a photocopy and re-draw to fix relative size. This allows me to maintain detail and consistency at smaller sizes. I may re-draw characters multiple times, but I don't do the same with scenic elements.

When creating digital pages, I find it very useful to layer items and selectively hide objects if I need to work on something unobstructed. It's more involved to edit things in pencil. I find it awkward to check perspective of the desk by hand because it's usually obstructed.

I don't think I will continue making completed, hand-assembled pencils for Green Corner. I think it would be better to draw items separately by hand and then adjust and assemble in Photoshop as necessary. I would still have a hand-rendered foundation, but there would be less re-drawing. I think this would work better for the way that I tend to complete the pages, as I often draw portions not visible within the confines of a page to ensure things are rendered correctly.

I don't think I'll ever stop drawing things by hand, but I like to streamline my process when possible. Illustrating a comic series is a tricky thing, but it has taught me a lot so far and always encourages me to grow as an illustrator.

Labels: comics, green corner, illustration, theory, traditional media

Page twenty of Green Corner has been published.

Please visit the Green Corner website to see the update.

Enjoy :)

Labels: comics, green corner

I've added more work to my portfolio site, and re-organized the design section. There's now the option to scan through my work by project type. I've kept the client-focused pages, so that visitors can still see the range of work that I can do for one client while maintaining a cohesive image. There have been some minor visual changes as well, to help with the structure of the website.

Over on the Green Corner website, I've added new avatars through page 19. I've also updated the image gallery to reference all pencils and progress images through page 19. Another recent addition is the writings section of the site, which includes short stories and scripts.


I hope you like the changes. Please let me know if you find any bugs, and I'll be sure to fix them as soon as possible.

Labels: green corner, portfolio, web design

New pages have been uploaded to the Green Corner website.

Enjoy! And Happy New Year!

Labels: comics, green corner

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Page 17 has been uploaded. Please visit the Green Corner website to see it.


Have a great day!

Labels: comics, green corner

This is an original short story I wrote as a companion piece to the "Naughty and Nice" image. I hope you enjoy reading it!

Naughty and Nice: Yule with the Eritsuro Family
Aena entered the living room, to find her older sister curled up on the couch in front of a roaring fire, reading a book. It was a Saturday afternoon, and it was cold outside. While Zalanda appeared to be enjoying the warm, cozy environment of the room; Aena was hoping to go outside and play in the snow. She was very much a child at heart.

There was finally enough snow on the ground to make a snowman, and Aena wanted to enlist her sister's help. She approached, and suggested going outside. Zalanda asked for a reason, complaining that it was "beastly cold."

"I wanted to make a snowman," Aena said, hoping the offer would be inviting. Zalanda was not interested in the slightest. She dismissed Aena quickly, telling her to make the snowman on her own as she didn't need help for that.

"Mom and Dad also want us to take a picture to put on cards for Yule," Aena reminded her.

Zalanda groaned in disappointment. "Seriously? What's the ridiculous theme this time?"

"Naughty and nice," Aena replied. "I get to be 'nice.'"

"Of course you do," Zalanda said, unsurprised and slightly annoyed.

Reluctantly agreeing to the photo shoot, Zalanda made a point of telling her sister that she would not be helping to make a snowman like the humans do. Aena would just have to play in the snow on her own, or find someone else to freeze with her. Aena accepted the deal, resolving to call friends over later.

With that, they dressed in their themed outfits and went outside. Their parents had warmed the air with magick, to make the scene more comfortable. Their father was grinning from ear to ear. He loved photographing his daughters, and it was always a fight to get Zalanda to participate. He'd hoped this theme would appease her, but she still appeared to be hoping to get things over with as quickly as possible.

Mrs. Eritsuro helped the girls with their placement, gave them tips on posing, and reminded them both to smile. Zalanda loudly complained that the whole thing was lame and childish.

"Really, Zalanda," he mother said disapprovingly, "Consider it a gift to your father and I. We do like to have pictures of both of you for keepsakes. It's not like you'll be living with us much longer."

"You're so dramatic!" Zalanda retorted, "I'll probably be here at least another four years."

"Four years that we'll treasure," her mother reminded her, "Now be cheerful. This is for Yule. Have fun with it."

"As long a Dad doesn't call us his 'little models' until we're done," Zalanda said, staring pointedly at her father as he adjusted his photography equipment.

Mr. Eritsuro denied ever calling his daughters models during a shoot. But, everyone knew he would have enjoyed working with them more frequently in his work as a professional photographer.

Aena looked over at Zalanda with a smile. "Just think, it won't be many more shoots before you move out."

Zalanda smiled in response, and decided to enjoy the shoot. She did look great in her outfit. And it was, after all, only once a year.

Labels: green corner, writing

Please visit the Green Corner website to see the completed page 16.

Progress images through page 15 and new avatars added to the image gallery. Vote incentives are close-ups from page 16.

Enjoy the page :)

Labels: comics, green corner

You can always find my T-shirts on Mysoti on my products page.

New shirts include:

• Aena Witch
• Jumping Aena (with or without bubbles)
• Magick Smoke
• Red and the Woodsman (no logo)
• Springtime Magick (no logo)
• Valentine Kiss
  
• Winter Holidays
• Zalanda in a Hot Red Bikini (no logo)
  

All shirts available in Men's and Women's styles, in a variety of colours.

Labels: green corner, merchandise

The "Naughty and Nice" special is now available on T-shirts at Mysoti.

Available for men and women on white, red, green, or light blue T-shirts.

I'll upload more artwork for Mysoti T-shirts, but it takes a while to process. If there's art you want bumped to the head of my queue, please let me know. Also, feel free to request a specific T-shirt colour.

Labels: green corner, merchandise

Free Economy or Standard shipping for CafePress.com purchases of $50 or more, excluding shipping charges and applicable sales tax. Delivery address must be within the United States and cannot be a PO Box. Offer ends November 28, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. (PST).

The coupon code is FEMHOL10 (to be entered at checkout).

If you'd like to get some of my cards in your order, check out:
The "Nice" cards
The "Naughty and Nice" cards

Labels: green corner, merchandise

Two pages this time. Please visit the Green Corner website to see the new pages.

Enjoy!

Labels: comics, green corner

I have completed this year's winter holiday special for Green Corner, featuring Zalanda (naughty) and Aena (nice).

Prints available! Order this from my Bubblesite


And here's the "Nice" greeting card:
"Nice" cards (Aena only) are available in my Cafepress shop. (in packs of 10 or 20 cards)


Free desktop wallpaper:
A 1440 x 900 wallpaper version is available for download from the Midori Forest group.
If you'd like a different size, please request with your screen dimensions in pixels.

Labels: green corner, illustration

Please visit the Green Corner website to see the completed page 13.

New avatars and progress images for page 12 also added to the image gallery. Please vote to see close-ups from page 13.

Enjoy!

Labels: comics, green corner

Please visit the Green Corner website to see the completed page 12. Vote to see progress images for page 12.

I've also made some other updates to the site, including progress images for page 11, new avatars, and more organization for the image gallery. Links have also been added for artwork available in prints.

Enjoy!

Labels: comics, green corner, web design

This wallpaper leaves lots of rooms for icons on your desktop. It features Zalanda and Kasha from page 10 of Green Corner.

The file is 1440 x 900 pixels. If you'd like another size, please request with your screen dimensions in pixels. Other background colours also available on request.

Labels: art, downloads, green corner, illustration

Here is the completed 2008 Hallowe'en special for Green Corner, featuring Aena dressed as "Red" and Barudo dressed as the Woodsman, of Red Riding Hood.

Total time was 13 hours, 57 minutes (Illustrator began to slow down about halfway through)

A 1440 x 900 desktop version is available for download from the Midori Forest group. If you'd like another size, please request with your screen dimensions in pixels.

Prints are available on my Bubblesite.

Labels: art, green corner, illustrator

I've continued working on the latest Green Corner special.


I did try beginning the background another way before, but I scrapped it and took some photos outside for inspiration. I will be uploading the photos I took to my Flickr account soon.

The grasses, sand patches, and the patches of leaves are all symbols that came with Illustrator (under "nature"). I added a stroke to some of the leaves and changed that symbol's colours; but the others were only coloured, not edited. The trees are from Bittbox (you can download the vectors here).

I'm nearly done shading the figures now, aside from a few things for Barudo and other minor adjustments. As this picture gets more detailed, Illustrator's response time is slowing, so it's taking a little longer to continue the work. I won't be listing the time it took to get to this point from the line work, but I will post the total time once the image is complete.

I'm very happy with how this image is progressing, and I look forward to finishing it. It will definitely be available in my RedBubble store when complete. There isn't much there at the moment, as I'm working on formatting more artwork to add. But if you want some Hallowe'en cards of Aena in her witch costume, that is available.

Please let me know if you have any comments or constructive criticism to share. I'm almost done with this piece, so this is the best time to let me know if you find something awkward.

Hope you like it so far.

Labels: art, green corner, illustrator

Here's my initial line work for the latest Green Corner special in progress. I'm using a more natural style for this special, but the comic has more of a manga influence.

Aena is dressed as Red Riding Hood, Barudo is playing the Woodsman. Line work for Aena took 2 hours, 43.5 minutes (mainly because of the detail), and 2 hours 14 minutes for Barudo. I usually use less detail for the hair and clothing in the comic because it's too time-consuming, but I can add more detail in the specials.

I have some minor edits to make to Barudo, but the line work is pretty much set. I will probably show a shirtless version of Barudo later, as I did draw his muscles underneath the shirt. I'll be starting on the colouring and the background next.

Hope you like it so far.

Labels: art, green corner, illustrator

Green Corner has been updated.

Completed page eleven is now published. Progress images for page ten and avatars for page eleven added to the image gallery.

Don't forget to use the voting links on the main page to show your support. (voting incentives are progress images from page eleven)

Thanks and enjoy the page!

Labels: art, green corner

I've been sketching more than usual in my sketchbook recently. I often sketch on loose paper, and I think it's partly because my sketchbook is a bit larger than I'd like at 11" x 14". I prefer 9" x 12". These are from the past few days, drawn with mechanical pencil. I may end up making digital illustrations of all of these. All sketches were darkened and treated to minor cleanup in Photoshop.

I hope you like them!
Aena from Green Corner in a more natural, human style (no pointy ears). The dress and hair is inspired a little by style in the 1930's. It's not meant to be accurate for that time period, I just wanted to create a classy look. Sketched 9/18/08, finished 9/20/08.

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Practice in a more natural style. I used a photo of myself for reference (for the expression and the hand), and I think that's come through a little in the face, though it's not intended to be a self-portrait. I really like how the hand turned out. Drawn 9/20/08.

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Aena from Green Corner in a bit of a gothic lolita style. Photo reference used for the pose. I'm not happy with the hand between her knees, so I'll probably change that when I make a digital version.

I was originally trying to have Aena cosplaying as a stuffed doll, but ended up going in this direction instead. I'm pretty happy with this. I have trouble with seated poses sometimes, but the body has turned out quite well here. Drawn 9/20/08.

Labels: aena, art, green corner, illustration, sketches, traditional media

Green Corner has been updated.

Completed page ten is now published. Progress images for page nine and avatars for pages nine and ten added to the image gallery.

Don't forget to use the voting links on the main page to show your support. (voting incentives are progress images from page ten)

Thanks and enjoy the page!

Labels: art, green corner

Green Corner has been updated.

Published page 9 viewable here.


New desktop wallpaper in the Midori Forest group files: friends2_1440x900.jpg
(it's a larger version of page nine)

The specials are also available as wallpapers. Send me an email with screen dimensions if there's a particular size you'd like.


I also added more pencils (up to page nine) and progress images (up to page eight) to the image gallery. A couple of progress images for page nine are also viewable as vote incentives. And there's a new link to add Green Corner to your favourites on Online Comics.

Enjoy!

Labels: art, green corner

I've just uploaded quite a few changes to the Green Corner site.

New things you may notice:

• The new Setting page combines the Midori Forest and Yousei Academy information
  
• New avatars/ icons
• Changed character bios (Aena's and Barudo's have new images)
• New About page (different from the FAQ)
  
• Progress images added to the gallery through page seven
• New Comics main page and added navigation for the Comics section (click on pages to move forward)
• Minor formatting and edits to the script
  
• New images on the main page
  

I removed the sketchbooks. I may add thumbnail image galleries in the future, but right now I'd like to get back to drawing comics :)

Hope you like the changes. If anything looks weird, please let me know. I don't have IE, so I had to trust Dreamweaver to find compatibility issues. Renders correctly in Firefox 3.

Edit: Fixed for Safari 3.

Labels: green corner, web design

Here's another older piece that I created in pen and ink. Aena has written an embarrassing love letter to Suko (the young man), and Zalanda sees this as the perfect opportunity to mock her for it (and share it with Suko!). Please click on the image to see a larger version.

Media: pen and ink
Paper: Borden and Riley #234 Paris bleedproof paper for pens
Dimensions: varying panel sizes, on two sheets of 11" x 14" paper)
Vintage: late 2002
Digital: minor cleanup in Photoshop

Labels: comics, green corner, traditional media

My tutorial for creating comic pages with Adobe Illustrator is available in PDF format here (948 KB). The tutorial is geared toward the novice user, but more experienced users may find some interesting techniques as well.

Please let me know if you have any questions about items not answered in the tutorial.

Edit: The location of the PDF has changed. Please only link to this post when promoting this tutorial. Direct links to the PDF are not permitted.

Labels: comics, green corner, illustrator, tutorial

This is an older piece that I created in ink and wash (the water from the washes caused the paper to ripple). Aena is looking at real estate advertised in the newspaper classifieds. She's happened upon poor D. Fish here, who is quite desperate to sell.

Media: ink and wash
Paper: Borden and Riley #234 Paris bleedproof paper for pens
Dimensions: 9" x 12" (on 11" x 14" paper)
Vintage: late 2002
Digital: minor cleanup in Photoshop

Labels: comics, green corner, traditional media

Green Corner has been updated.

Published page seven available here.

I'm still working on the tutorial, but I will let you know when it's finished.

Enjoy the page!

Labels: art, comics, green corner

Green Corner has been updated.

Published page six available here.

If you want to start from the beginning, page one is here.

I plan to start on page seven soon, but I will also be making a tutorial at the same time, so it may take a while. I'll keep you updated.

Enjoy the page!

Labels: art, comics, green corner

eeI've completed the illustration of Aena (from my comic series, Green Corner) jumping. You can see my earlier progress post here if you missed it.

The finished piece:


Total time was 5 hours and 11 minutes. As mentioned earlier, the initial linework took an hour and 35 minutes, while the flat colour took 13 and a half minutes. Yesterday, I spent three hours and 23 minutes adding shading, shine, and fixing a couple details. I also added a simple background for interest.

It used to take longer to create an image like this as I was previously using Illustrator 9. I'm now using CS3 with livepaint for colouring, which helps to speed things up.

I've made a 1440 x 900 wallpaper with this image, but if you would like another size, please request and I will upload to the Midori Forest Google Group.

Here's a comparison image that shows my initial pencil sketch, the sketch darkened and cleaned up, and the final piece side by side:


The pencil sketch was completed on a bus and I didn't have an eraser on me at the time, so it's a bit rougher than usual. I try not to sketch on lined paper normally, as the lines don't disappear seamlessly; but it's not really a problem when I create illustrations like this.

And a closeup of the final piece, so that you can get a better idea of the detail I include:


I had some slight technical difficulties with my artblog over the last day that I've since resolved. Sorry for any interruption, but everything should be working now.

Labels: art, green corner, illustrator