2007 - Jane Marple

These two sketches were created with the clothing brand Jane Marple in mind for a tribute site I was creating. I lost most of the files when my computer crashed. If you look hard you can find the site that I had uploaded at saicoink.com though. I thought it was kind of over indulging so I never posted the link elsewhere. I highly doubt anyone really visits the main site anymore. Speaking of which I need to work on some updates and writings.

One of the themes of Jane Marple is the British monarch. Last year during the 2007 winter collection there was an entire gobelin jacquard with a royal motif with throne and scepter in the pattern as well as a more grown up collection that commemorated the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. This year there are some knits and socks featuring the Union Jack that are pretty sweet but I can't imagine getting away with wearing them in this country. D: That's too bad. In the past Jane Marple has also released cloth crown hats! I hope they release some again someday soon. I want to buy one even though it might be a bit impractical.

Jane Marple releases sailor motif items almost every year even the pieces aren't the main feature for that collection. I think I like sailor type clothes because of the clean lines (and I just like uniforms maybe? ^^;).

I finished the freetalk for the Reborn doujinshi. I'm really happy since I am using a brush pen for the inking and that's going really well. I want to try out more brush pens for fun. Working in black and white is a lot of fun. I can't think in color. My drawing and inking has improved a bit since my last project. *_*

2007/2008 お金が無くなったけど

Aren't there days when you think things are going okay, but then you realize that you have a big fat bill to take care of that you weren't aware of?! Like somehow all your money disappeared into nothingness?

Yeah, it's pretty depressing. But don't worry...

You will prevail!!

(Also I'm really sorry for the previous entry. All of those sketches WERE REALLY WEIRD WEREN'T THEY? I MEAN WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?! I think it was/is because I was weird that day/everyday.

2007/10 Us three

When I think about my computer that crashed it reminds me of the sketches that I had scanned and had not put up on this blog yet and I feel a great sense of loss for the photos and all the images I was working on. :-( Borgia says, "Don't worry."

And I think Emily grew up somehow without my knowing it. When did that happen? I'll post the photo here someday when I get to scanning it. I knew she was getting too smart for her own good. Then she had to go and grow up on me! ha ha. One's characters have a tendency to do that!

When drawing sketches I like to layer faces next to each other as if a transition from different moods and expressions in a small frame of time. Thinking that by placing two faces too close to each other makes it seems like there is some kind of relation between them so I always balance out with three or four more faces, sometimes profiles, but most of the time these added faces don't look that great. I think Borgia is better than most in these exercises. I drew this on a slip of paper with random math-related scribbles.

2007/11/18 Who knows?! D:

I don't have a title for this one. I'm not even sure what this is about? The woman puts the seeds in and the guy harvests the flower? I don't know? I think I want to ink this and color this and make a collage or something. Can someone tell me what this is about? Really? Because I don't know.

I need to get started on marking cards this year! I'm all out of ideas though. ;_; And I'm really tired and have no more money.

2007/11/18 Amano Tonbimaru

This is Amano Tonbimaru, vocalist, guitarist, and I guess leader of the Angura-kei band, Guruguru Eigakan. The band typically wears Showa era schoolboy uniforms and put on white makeup covering their face (like Kabuki actors). It accentuates their facial expressions on stage and gives a nostalgic feel to their concert performances which are a combination of a stage play and a rock concert. I like drawing Amano a lot- but this is the first drawing I've done of him is probably two or three years. You'll see more of him sometime soon! Check out the Guruguru Eigakan official page for more information about the band.

I got tagged with a meme the other day by Ren. Since I'm posting a sketch of Guruguru Eigakan leader Amano anyhow I decided to repost this here. I created a package of song files as well (missing tracks 3 and 7 since I don't have the CD with me) so that people can actually understand what it is that I am referring to. Get it here.

1. Sora wo tobitagatta kodomo (1:2)
2. Ame de tobitatsu otoko to onna (Omnibus)
3. Boy kobayashi no nayami -miraiha tanteidan (taiheihen)- (3:4)
4. Itsuka mita ano asayake ni (2:2)
5. Akai hana sora no ao (5:2)
6. Nichiyoubi no asa (5:3)
7. Bonjin no susume (3:1)

8. Haru no shirosa ni boku, maketa. (1:5)

9. Toutou to (5:4)
10. Soboku na gimon (4:2)
-------------------------

11. Fuan, kita (2:3) There's no room for Fuan, kita? ;_;

Two Guruguru Eigakan flyers from the several that I own. They are visually very interesting. They have other excellent flyers. Many of them were designed by Adachi Ayame.

2007/11/18 Headshots

I don't know if these pictures makes any sense to anyone, but I was listening to Cali+Gari yesterday, and I managed to get a lot of sketches out. By the time I was drawing these two sketches I was trying to try out some new style of drawing (yet it ends up being the same anyway).

Imagine a big forceful wind lifting this person's hair up. Whoa, like, no way!

And here is a punkish guy. Is he the "real" thing? Is he one of those preppy punk kids from the suburbs following his idols' dress to the T? Or is this one of those guys who just read too much Nana?! You decide!!! He is wearing a "No Future" sash or whatever. I like drawing vague clothing.

More amazing stuff tomorrow! Or if not tomorrow some other time. Who knows!?

2007/09/03 - Feeling Fabulous!

You would think that it's easy to make updates, especially when I have most of the images already scanned in ready to go, but recently I haven't been feeling well, and that has gotten me down and not feeling up beat enough to make any updates of any kind.

Anyway, this is the last of the Copic series. When someone feels fabulous they twinkle and sparkle! I think it's because of Ogata doujinshi and Juu that I'm now a sparkle-drawing freak. ;A;

2007/09/03 - Space Operator Timmons

Another from the Copic frenzied sketch series! There is one more, and it will conclude it all. Dear Marie is held hostage from Space Operator Timmons who is at his last thread- however, poor Marie has lost her will to live a long time ago. Maybe this will create something new and exciting in her life. Timmons is really a sweet heart after all who is just having a bad day. It doesn't always work out this way of course, but think of all the wonderful adventures they would have once he takes Marie away to far off and wonderful planets.

2007/09/03 - Delicious

Girl who has just had a delicious meal at an upscale restaurant. I wonder what she might had eaten? As of this moment, I can't imagine what an upscale restaurant may serve as I am so tired. I think I forgot to update on Tuesday because I was so tired.

2007/09/03 Angel Darling

Part of a batch of sketches I did using a Copic marker in one of my journals. I hadn't been drawing in a really long time, so I tried to sketch this and that in order to warm up. I drew some really bad stuff and then hit my stride with a bunch of not so boring sketches. Here is the first one out of four(?). They were all really frenzied sketches in which I drew whatever came to mind in a minute or two. Most of my sketches are like that. The girl with wings is just wearing them- at least that was what I thought when I drew this. She is fixing her tie.

2007/10/20 Boy and Mi

To show that I can actually draw full body if I want to. I want to try new ways of drawing my characters by experimenting with the shapes. Maybe this is an example of this? I like the boy's shoes. It looks like he has to work picking up paper. Mi! Don't distract him now! This is one of my favorite sketches in a really long time.

Today I spent some time writing letters and scanning sketches (so we have enough sketches for almost daily updates for this week! - if I can find the time to update that is). Recently school has become a black hole, sucking all of my time away. Life is sad. I want to draw and create more!! So- this is why I haven't been updating recently! I am so tired everyday. Thanks to all two of you who are reading this blog.

2007 Fantasia (rough draft)

This was a quick linocut I did one evening for the Jane Marple thanks good contest.  I don't care to get the cards or not, I just did something for the sake of doing something.  I shipped it out the next day and wrote an embarassing fangirly letter to Murano Megumi, head designer of Jane Marple.  It's one of those orz moments that you don't want to think about.  Anyway, the linocut I sent had gold colored ink highlights on it as well to make it seem more mysterious.  This is just the rough draft I'm showing you here.  I need to ink each of the other prints in the series.  This is a short print run.  Only 6.  I need to destroy the plate sometime later this week.

I don't think I depicted the theme of fantasia very well since I was so tired with school. Fantasia is supposed to be like the romantic feeling of travelling to a different country and fantastical place.  I think I will look at the idea of fantasia in some other work.  

Greetings my darlings.

I'm sorry that it took so so long to update something on this sketch blog again.  I'm not sure if anyone really even cares to check out the blog again. (._.  Anyway, I went on a really long trip, then when I came back my computer crashed completely.  I'm really still mourning over the event and all the data lost (including all the sketch files that I had scanned in advance).  I haven't bought a new computer yet but am using a borrowed laptop.  I'm being lazy about buying a new computer.  I'm wondering if I should just get one with Windows Vista on it? :-(

I moved as well and am really busy with school, so I don't have a lot of time for sketching.  I did, however, take a lot of photos, so maybe I will start a Flickr account or something and upload the files here on this blog as well.  I'm going to try and update more often from now on.

Recently went to the art store and spent too much on art supplies.  A linocut resulted as well as the sketches below.  The linocut I will show tomorrow.

from 2007/10/15


from 2007/10/16


from 2007/10/19

I keep drawing heads.  I don't know why...
Someone comment and let me know that you're still reading this!!! *A*

2007 Mr. Ogata & His Fish (preview)

It is quite amazing, but I managed to finish a 11 page comic with pencils and inking in a week and a half. D;  I guess this happens when you haven't drawn any comics in two years or so.  I am joining with a couple of my friends to create a book about Ogata.  I don't usually draw this kind of fan stuff, so I guess this is a sort of rare opportunity for me.

I messed up on drawing his glasses in the final frame.  If I have the time I will go back and reink the frame.

How do you usually draw comics?  What I tend to do is to make pencil sketches and using a light box, ink through that way.  There are people that can do pencils and then do the final without a light box which I think is very amazing.  Using the light box can be tiring because the light is bright, and it can strain my eyes.  The box is also very hot as well.  So often times, the most I can manage to do is ink two pages and take a rest.  Well, I suppose I should take a rest anyway after all that work!

I wish that there was an easier way to do things.  I enjoy my pencils a lot and have found that it's easier to re-do panels if I still have my pencils.  I also do not have to worry about erasing after inking if I had done it directly on the pencils.  

I had some more interesting things to say about this, but now I'm really tired so I guess I might go back and edit this later. :-(

2007/05/16 Boogie Woogie Mi

The weather is decent today, so here is a very happy Mi dancing to celebrate the unrainy day.

Trying to get some serious drawing done, but it's not working out.  Easily lose faith in self. OTZ  And Mi's happy dance is not helping. D:

2007/05/22 New style? Exciting projects?!

Can you believe it? Starting this sketch journal I actually started to draw more. Even though I still have loads and loads of old stuff scanned in that I have yet to post here, I'm not being too lazy about it and actually drawing new things to post up here.

Anyway, I'm taking tomorrow and the weekend off from posting in this blog to work on actual comics!!! And other more important things!!! So here's two sketches for you.

I'm working on a multi-mini comic featuring Gilles & Sylvie with Louise as well! Yay! D: It will be a deluxe mini with many parts and handbound with a handprint color cover(?) and will cost more to produce than the reasonable selling price, but I'm making it anyway FOR FUN. :D It will be so cool. Maybe I'll just make a run of 50 and after selling it all (HA! As if I could do that! XD;) I'll just put the contents up on the web to show that yes, I still do draw comics from time to time.

Also, starting work on Ogata doujinshi because Ogata is the cool--- I wouldn't call myself otaku or anything, but sometimes it's okay to indulge in these kinds of things once in a while especially when I get to work with the coolest and funniest bunch of people in the making of this book.

2007 Saltine Crackers

Mmmmm, yummmy saltine crackers and 7-Up when you have the flu.  Not that I have the flu right now mind you, but somehow this reminds me of this.  Saltine crackers remind me of sickness.

Poor Gilles having to follow his sister's whim.  Why doesn't he try to cook himself?  He can't really, and Sylvie had declared it her job to buy the groceries and though she holds the cash to do so, she ends up spending it on something else.... to be revealed later!

I had so many plans for these past weeks, but I haven't gotten anything creative done.  It's so sad since once September rolls in, I won't have any time for any of these endeavors. :-(

2007/05/16 Good ol' Lou

I'm trying to draw Louise so that she looks like an actual person, but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right or not.

You would be scared too if you saw a rat asking you for some marmalade and biscuits!

After a few attempts, she looks more like a 10 year old than a young teenage girl. (^^;;

Well... she is short and little round after all. Hmm.

2007 Sylvie and Gilles and Louise

A test comic I drew a couple of weeks ago featuring Louise and her friend Sylvie who knows exactly how to un-nerve Louise.  Sylvie is evil in that way.  A test comic.  I might take this idea and redraw it someday.  It's kind of terrible though.  Reminds me of the comics I drew in high school.  I suppose not much has changed anyhow.

I am trying to develop Louise in terms of her design so that I might have something more consistent.  Louise doesn't think much of herself, but she fails to realize how cute she really is. Ha ha.  I'll show you some of the sketches I have been developing regarding Louise tomorrow followed the next day by another test comic.

2007/04/24 Feeling blue?

I greatly dislike it when people who do not have an artistic sense look at my art while I am drawing it and ask me questions like "Are you feeling sad?" as if my own present emotional state would fit the expression of the person I was drawing on the paper.  I suppose that people do express a part of themselves in whatever it is that they may create, but to put it simply in a word like 'sad' or 'mad' seems to cheapens it and misses the point entirely.  It is really quite possible to draw something without seeing it or feeling it exactly at that moment.  I wish people would understand that.  

But in this instance, I really was meloncholy as well as worried when I drew this and wanted to directly express that current state of my mind.

What kinds of facial expressions do you have when you draw?  In my case, though I do not internalize the emotions that I'm trying to express on paper, sometimes I do make the face I want to draw even if I'm not looking at the mirror when doing so.  Sometimes it helps. (^-^;

Sorry for the ranting!  And also the late update.  This was actually supposed to come up on Monday, but various happenings prevented me from getting the motivation needed to finish the draft I made of this post.  Recently because the weather was so horrid, I haven't really felt like doing much.  I was as depressed as the gray skies outside.  Today is so much nicer, and it makes me want to be outside and do stuff!  

Recently I bought a new digital camera so I might put up photos here too to give the sketch journal a bit of color now and then.

Sorry for the hiatus!

I was out of town for a couple of days so I didn't have any access to Internet in order to update the blog.  Sorry about that. *_*

Anyway, to make up for it, two sketches today:

I'm not quite sure why he is crying.  Is the bird carrying bad news?  Is it stuck in something and can't get out?

And then.. Mr. Kats continued.  I found my old box of watercolor paints the other day as I was trying to organize the basement and spent yesterday evening painting in the prints I had created.  The color palette is a bit conversative, but oh well.  You can't deny that it looks so much spiffier with color!

(Somehow the colors look so much different from the real thing I have in front of my hands. *_*;  It scans better than the prints by themselves though. D:)

I'm not quite sure what I will do with this print.  I tend to tear the paper so it's close to the size of the plate so it's not really ideal for framing or whatnot.  Maybe they would make nice book plates, but the paper is kind of thick?  Actually, I think book plates might be a nice thing.  Well, I don't know.  Do you have any ideas?

2007 Mr. Kats

Two posts in one day!  This is a work in progress.  It's a linocut that I spent way too much time on.  It's a guy in a cat suit, and I haven't decided what it is that he is doing.  (Reading an eviction notice?  Deciding to finally go and get that cat suit dry cleaned?!) He was a lot angrier before and blushing as well, but I removed those things.  It's a work in progress because I might break out the water colors and go crazy on the prints that I already made.

I also updated the site today!  Finally!  It's a record.  So far it's been two new updates in a year after several years of one or no updates.  Woow-wee.

2007/04/08 MI ATTACKS!

Mi likes to jump... on people's... heads!!!!  Because it's really fun!  You should try it sometime!  But only if you're a nice and cuddly and cute animal thing.

2007/01/17 Boys & Girls

Here is Gilles and his friends.  The guy on the right wants to be Ziggy Stardust.

And Sylvie is looking particularly evil today with Borgia who also looks like she's up to no good (quite typical really...).

I am not quite sure why it is that I quite often create characters that are so full of themselves, arrogant, and vain when I'm quite sure these aren't my own personal qualities.  Very curious indeed!

2007 Failed Twilight (3)

This is going to be a long post so remember to scroll to see everything!

Sylvie isn't very popular at her school, but her twin brother Gilles is.  Here the girl in the glasses tries to get Sylvie to give a birthday party invitation to her brother.  Of course, she isn't very happy about it.  I think in all the pages I drew of this terrible mess, this was the only page in which Sylvie was really Sylvie.

From the outset, Gilles doesn't really look like Gilles at all.  He is somewhat popular or rather well-liked is probably the better word.  He plays the violin or some instrument in the orchestra or something and probably spends a lot of his time after school practicing.  Yeah, this page sucks.

Gilles ask if Sylvie is okay, and she thinks for a minute before telling him that he worries too much.  On the way home they encounter the stray cat that Sylvie likes to feed whenever she sees it.  

She is actually quite friendly with it and likes to hold and pet it.  I suppose it's her only friend in this particular comic.

Well, that's all the pages here.

I think it's truly horrible because this isn't Sylvie and Gilles at all!  Not at all!!!  It's someone else pretending to be like them, or Sylvie and Gilles hired as actors and doing poorly as other characters that don't really fit the kind of people they are.  This was the reason I had to give up.  Sylvie looked too normal and normal-cute.  And Gilles was much too friendly (though he's still the more approachable of the too), and most of all there seemed to be a rift between them.  I think that there still is when they are in the right character, but the most important thing about Sylvie and Gilles was missing from this comic.  That is- the fact that two are basically in their own world- Sylvie more than Gilles, and act and think differently from most normal people.

Anyway, just yesterday I was drawing, and I think I finally have a comic for Gilles and Sylvie.  I had to create a new character, Louise, who introduces herself as, "I'm not very pretty, in fact, I'm a little plump.  And round.  And short."  Louise is incredibly normal, but it's because this that makes a story with Gilles and Sylvie possible in the first place.  So- I think this is what I will be trying to do once I finish my spring cleaning! (Which is extreme, EXTREME spring cleaning).  Maybe I'll post the sketches someday.  I think this story that I have in store has that sort of... well... the feeling is different from my other comics.  Maybe someone can help explain to me how it's different...?

2007 Failed Twilight (2)

More character sketches.  I think my favourite part of this silly sketch is the woman who makes that guy eat something asking him, "Yummy?" with him saying "Ye- yeah" but really thinking "NO."  That's really the only reason I scanned this thing in the first place. (^^;

It was supposed to be an awesome comic with a klutzy train conductor, a cat-human, and talking fish that walked on their fins out of the water.

But it failed because the characters failed me.  My drawing skills were not up to the task as well.

Tomorrow's entry will feature the pages I drew for the comic in pencil.  I never got a chance to ink them before I failed.  After I finally get those up, maybe I'll scan some of my other failed comics that I had to drop because of problems with pacing and long-winded story lines that were utterly boring and nonsensical.

2007 - Failed Twilight (1)

I decided this week to introduce some sketches I made for a failed attempt at a comic about a month or two ago featuring Gilles and Sylvie.  I scraped the project because I felt I couldn't draw.  But most of all I felt that both Gilles and Sylvie were terribly out of character.  Anyway, here were some character sketches I did.  I have some comic panels I'll put up in the next few days as well.  It was... truly horrible.  I'll try again someday.  I think the problem is that they are both too beautiful.  It's hard to give them much expression.  I could make them evil, but actually, I have a very hard time thinking of evil things much less silly mischief!  I honestly... don't have much experience in that realm.  I suppose I'm not much of a story teller in this respect.

2007/04/08 Linocut Plates

About time we had a post featuring work I'm doing at the moment!  I love the look of linocuts that have been freshly cut and still untouched by any ink.  I can't wait to get these printed.  It is going to be a two color print that will be the cover of the Hanamonogatari translation I did about two or three years ago with Bronny.  If we're all lucky I'll have that done and printed by the end of April!  So excited.  I love making books.  Need to work on the illustrations inside and the layout as well.  Excitement!

2007/01/21 Being Beautiful

The two guys at the top of the drawing are so beautiful that they give off sparkles and stars as they walk down the hall.  I think that the two girls who are so plain are an interesting contrast to the guys who look so stunning.  It is funny how they look so envious! ha ha "Beth, why can't we be beautiful too?" And it's even funnier how the guy on the left knows that he is The Awesome.  How arrogant! XD

2007/02/14 Georgie likes animals

Georgie tries to impress the girls by showing them that he can play with cute animals, but Milly is far from impressed especially when both are being stuck in a small corner.  Poor Georgie.

Happy New Journal!

This was the first page from the first journal of the new year.  I originally bought the journal in Montreal at a shop that only sold Japanese paper.  A friend of the family works there.  At first when she told me about it I couldn't believe that such a shop could exist.  But it does!  It is called Au Papier Japonais.  It is a quaint little shop that makes people like me think about opening my own shop selling the things I love.

This journal is partly to allow me a place to post the sketches I do in my paper journal.  I don't own a sketchbook (I don't like them very much), but I often draw silly pictures in my journals.  I don't produce beautiful or decent drawings everyday, but I have a good backlog of journals from the last two years so I'll put those pictures up as well when I have the time.  Many of these are kind of boring because I tend to draw a lot of the upper body and focus on the expression of the face.  I'm really not much of an artist, but I hope that this journal may lead me to try and make more comics and artwork in the near future.

The two people on the right are twins Sylvie and Gilles.  The girl on the left is Emily.  These people are my special characters, and they will appear on this journal again and again.  I want to draw a comic using these characters, but I always feel so apphrehensive about my own work so I don't...  Maybe someday or not.