shussshhh shusshhh

Sooo...a good thing about moving to Ottawa, I finally got an "when we move to Ottawa present."

AWWW YEAHHHHH.

 

New tablet! 

My old one has a crack in it, is GROSS and the mouse double clicks randomly and doesn't scroll and it is OLD AS HELL and DYING. My new Intuos4 is like, too cool for school next to that 10 year old (at least) thing.

The new one makes a nice marker-like shusssshing sound when you draw. Plus it has programmable keys and all sorts of nibs and its all like black on black on black like Batman's tablet would be. Yes.......

So I am getting used to it. I have never drew things from scratch on my tablet, I scan in pencil drawings or inked stuff and go from there. Might change now.

Want to see some sneak peek stuff?

 

There.

These are works in progress, I am still working on colours and packing ideas and other parts of the projects. You know, just making crap up as I go along.Heh hehhhh.

Oh, and I asked Nathan to take a pic of my in my studio, you know, so I can be current and not be a liar with outdated profile pics on the internet. This is the BEST one!

There must be a deadly herp derp leak in this studio. hahaha.

Painty Party

Painting little doodles. Trying to remember how I ever painted anything before...I think I forgot how in the months since I have done any new work...

*dabble dabble*

Messing around

Decided to start some new little projects today, as I wasn't feeling the paintings I had started.

What could this black bat shape be for? hmmm?

I have been off to a slow start this year with completing projects. I start them then I hate them. Its so easy to get distracted. But when I am laying in bed thinking a project, and I can't stop and go to sleep, like I was last night, I know I am on the right track.

Oh, did you see my bobcat print? Its listed at blackforestcake. I think I see many more animal paintings in my future. I want to to do a wolf next. That will be challenging...

But right now, its Friday, and I have to go and play Mini Ninjas. (I spend a lot of time awwing over turning into foxes and raccoon dogs!)

Peek!

Sneaky peek!

New stuffed wool guys, sitting in a box, waiting for their makeup and accessories!

Orange Cat is a gift, but the others will be in the shop in the New Year.

Keeping busy. :-)

Cake and Pie

I have been focusing on adding new products to my cutesy shop, blackforestcake. But I have not forgotten about blacklilypie!

This is a sticker set that is waiting to have its photoshoot. I just snapped this one as I was re-shooting some other items. *EDIT* They are now listed here. I have a few other sticker sets on the board too.

I designed this topper to be used with multiple sets, making it easier and faster to produce with just a few elements that change. I am working on a monogram set this afternoon. :-)

I have been posting links to some books I am in love with on Twitter, but I don't want anyone missing out, so here they are:


..

-Martha Stewart's Cupcakes-I liked the Cookies book she did so much I had to have the cupcake one. I can't wait to try some of them. Plus there is vampire bat cupcake. I pretty much squealed. Love her or hate her, she has good people working on her books.

-Gothic and Lolita by Phaidon-There is just something so awesome about seeing real people wearing clothes like this with all their little DIY additions and attention to detail. I just get a fuzzy feeling when people are weirdos, and they go to weirdo bars and cafes with their weirdo friends and don't care if you think they are silly. I also love seeing peoples rooms.

-Japanese Goth-Illustration,fashion,dolls,bands, and everything in between. Would have made a really great huge coffee table book. I just eat up some of those beautiful pictures. Here is an interview with one of the authors and some examples from the book...

I like books. There are stacks of them I should mention here. Maybe I should try to keep on that. ;-)

Sweet Secrets...

I mentioned in my last post that I am working on opening a second Etsy shop...

Its still not open, because I want to have a nice little starter set of items to stock it. I also am working on the branding, graphics and other things that ones worries about.

I can give you some sneak peeks of my progress though...

Cakes!

Strawberries!

And doodles!
(You have no idea how many time I have held up these guys and said "SO KEY-YUTE!!" I am in love with them.)

I think the shop might be open next week. I have to buy some specific supplies to finish some items and its my dudes b-day AND a long weekend with lots of plans, so I don't know how much time I will have available to me. So I am not giving an opening date yet. But its coming!! :-)

Working on something new...

Spiders like flowers.

Can you tell what it will be?

I had this illustration board hanging around that is not the usual surface that I like to paint on. Its slick, and even has a bit of a shine. It seemed perfect for ink.

The surprising thing is that I actually did a pretty organized and complete sketch. I often just go "EH, I will figure it out as I go" and that is sometimes a horrible idea. I then decided to use an ink pen instead of the acrylic ink and brush I have been favoring lately.



This is actually a test print of the drawing, after it was scanned and Photoshopped. I was going to add digital colour, but once it got to the completed ink stage, I just liked it as is. Its not a secret that I always like line art better then the coloured versions. I bet I had a lot of blank colouring books as a kid.

I am not even going to pretend that this is going to be finished before monday. Its the weekend! No one wants paper goods with Cheetos fingerprints on them. :-)

Sneak Peek. Still.

So instead of finishing my new creations today I did laundry and dishes and made muffins and other boring things that the wife of a house does.

Then I decided to work on some little bat beasties, maybe take a photo to show their progress...

BUT SOMETHING WEIRD HAPPENED!

AHHHH! A strange shadow appeared in my photo! OMG GUYS! I am so scared. The shadow looks so....dapper and dashing. What could it BE? I am too scared to work anymore tonight.

I am betting the source of the mystery shadow, some beastie bats and some other spooky creations will show up on Thursday or Friday on this blog and in the shop. I hope I can make it till then without more terror!

EDIT: The project is growing! I need some more spooky components that I will seek out on the weekend. MONDAY!

Junk and Stuff

Working on new mini-items...



I am making some mini-animals on little stands. Its a messy job, because I need SO many different materials to make them and their homes. Felt,beads,cardboard,glue,thread,fabric,paper...PHEW!

Some are sweet and some are spoooooky. :-)

cat-ish things...

I put two stationery sets in my shop today. I have been doing some gloomy or dark stuff lately, so I bet some people will be happy to see something fluffier for a change.

This batcat stationery is a modern makeover of one I designed in university. Batcat has gotten a 2009 update, but everything else is pretty much the same. I packaged them nice and small to make them easier to ship. (Easier means cheaper too!)

Not really all that proud of my photography on these babies, but what else is new. I guess I shouldn't publicly point out that they are photographed poorly. Forget I said anything. The overcast days make my photos so dreary. Which is fine when they are supposed to be dreary!

So now I am working on something new. Look at this bad boy!

Heee heee! My favorite part is the chewed ears! I might have to make that more of a feature.

This is just the first rough part of blocking in the shapes. He will have his fur and features tweaked soon enough...He is an Illustrator drawing, and I will show you the rest of him when the project comes together... P.S. Think I have enough icons in my dock??? Haha.