Fun_PtVDocVtar_L

Studying a documentary I found of Pierce the Veil, drawing out the neat poses I saw.

This was Vic and his guitar.

And we're officially caught up on 2015!!

4/13/16

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Hare_DoofVG_ThaD

A little concept sketch for a mystery/puzzle themed project based on Innistrad and Zendikar.

Plus the extended edition hyper remix HD turbo ultra.

4/13/16

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Fun_Calt.WraithAwaiting

And a Merry Christmas it is--our little Wraith just got her wings.

Again the throat armor took inspiration from Algenpfleger's Solider token, but other than that, just hardcore riffin', especially on the bg. I chose to make the armor designs vaguely based on the letter M, for Markov.

I couldn't have this token fully colored for the SOI prerelease since I needed to pull this peculiarly rare token from one of my packs in the first place. Once I ripped one, I kept it BW for the event since I didn't want to present a half-colored, not-yet-ready-for-prime-time token, especially when the others were all fully colored up or BW themselves.

4/12/16

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Fun_DearNeighbors

I decided to color our little experimental letter sketch, from when I randomly bought ice cream for everybody in the share house, all of whom I didn't know.

I used to do stuff like that in college all the time, just randomly leave people snacks and stuff because I'd often win contests in my residential college for free food at the student dive or I'd have spare grub stored up from Commons or the Law School.

I don't like talking to people, so I express my humanity and affection in nonverbal ways, typically through art but also frequently through gifts.

I like art.

I got to eat all that ice cream myself.

4/12/16

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Fun_DearNeighbors_L

I found a draft of an old letter I wrote to my neighbors at my old place when I randomly decided to buy everyone ice cream.

I thought it would look funny to draw right over it because I used to be so precious with paper and stuff--never draw on lined paper, keep everything nice and neat, etc.--but meh, just cut to the chase!

I'm in a letter-writing mindset lately.

4/12/16

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Fun_Calt.WraithAwaiting_B

And then the base colors for our little wraith, as I've been calling her.

I had to call it a night when I was coloring this so I just roughed in the bg there, and hoped I would be able to remember what I was going for later on. We'll see how that goes soon enough.

4/12/16

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Fun_TalesOfIchabodFae_L

Hum! Found the lines from ye olde Ichabod Fae piece.

I remember the shape of the overshirt was one of the funner parts, including those scarecrow-like frayed parts.

4/12/16

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Hare_Des.DawnOfTheLoser

Another ad thingie I made, with the JP swapped out for some neato lyrics by TV on the Radio. Originally it was about a little viewing station you could watch old Pro Tours and stuff at.

And no, I'm not a Breaking Bad fan, I just like this song, and later found out it had some kind of BrBa tie-in.

I tried watching it, and it was so boring! I was like, this is what all the hype is about? It was like Hal sitting in a living room while a lady was talking incessantly or something and he was miserable having to listen to her(?)...I remember he had a briefcase or something that he was preoccupied with.

It was a while ago. Man, was it back in the US? I can't imagine I've had any opportunity to watch Western shows in JP...don't even have a TV.

Anyway, cards we used were--last call for guesses--as follows:
See Beyond
Propaganda
Evermind
Unblinking Bleb

Easy, wasn't it?

4/12/16

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Fun_Calt.WraithAwaiting_L

Studying Algen's soldier token's armor a bit for this Vampire Knight token.

I loved these guys at the SOI prerelease, but couldn't prep any before the event since this was a brand new token type!

Oh, I'd torn up some vampires from KTK, but only before realizing SOI's weren't 2/2s, and they didn't fly.

I ended up drawing this while waiting for day 2 to start.

Colors coming right up, just wait your wraiths.

4/11/16

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Fun_LifetimeSupply

You ever have one of those lifetimes?

4/11/16

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Fun_OKko

This guy won a Pro Tour! But he's just another dude.

Dude, everybody is just another dude.

You? You're just another dude.

Me? I dunno.

4/11/16

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Fun_NPR_L

Just noticed I had the pencils to that kr0npr1nz study!

4/11/16

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Fun_LvyDvy

Ah, man, one night on the train I saw two people just knocked out together on the train.

Melted my cold, unfeeling heart.

Or so my programmers tell me.

4/11/16

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Hare_Des.LetsRewind

A design piece I did. I swapped out the Japanese for some slightly less nonsensical English.

It was themed on memories, since the event was about writing down your memories of the past year or some such.

The cards we jammed here were (last chance to guess...ok here we go):
Time Walk
Island
Secrets of Paradise
Breeding Pool
Brainstorm
Memory Jar
and
Watery Grave
as the beaver.

4/11/16

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Fun_Calt.JombiJane

Was not expecting to enjoy this one so much, but it was actually quite nice going. I wasn't in love with the lines, to be quite frank.

Anyway, would not be ashamed to plop this homie down.

Psych! As if I ever get to play Magic any more!

4/10/16

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Fun_CanetEars

And since I wouldn't feel right just stopping at Eric Canete's inks, I thought I'd try some monochromatic Copic tones on top of the lines.

This is the kind of piece you just get lost in, it was like 3 or 4 or in the morning, and I'm listening to old MTG Potpourri episodes and thinking about life and everything, working on this quasi-abstract design. What even is?

Anyway, another reason I admire him is because he's also a Copic artist. Inks and Copics with a resistance to digital. How about that.

4/10/16

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Fun_CanetEars_L

A study of an Eric Canete sketch.

He actually inspired this site, you know. My gosh, we just hit the 9th anniversary of this site a few days ago, and a large part of it starting up in earnest was this guy posting such inspirational ink stuff that I'd study to get amped before doing an ink illustration for the Penny Dreadful.

I actually called this site Removal because he called his Discard! Haha. In Magic, removal is my favorite thing you can do, so it fit for multiple reasons--obviously there's more to the name than just that but it was a great jumping-off point.

I remember being so nervous when I finally met him...I got him to review my stuff at Comic-Con once. I was expecting him to shred me apart, but he was actually quite positive...somewhat vexingly, since I didn't really know how to improve from there. But I don't think he was pulling punches, he's certainly not afraid of letting you know what he thinks.

So...we continue floundering.

4/10/16

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Fun_IOHWIR

And the thrilling conclusion to our little study, adding in a rainy background because I love, love, love the rain, accented with the white gel pen for rainy bounces.

I find that when the gel pen isn't particularly crucial it seems to perform satisfactorily, but when we really need it to land, like on a rim, it doesn't quite get the job done. So the hunt continues for a reliable white ink, but fortunately, I have some white Deleter ink on deck I'm looking to try out.

4/10/16

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Fun_IOHWIR_B

Continuing the lil study, super reduced colors, just two tones per color.

I always overdo it, so this was a nice little exercise in restraint.

However, I had to kinda squeak in some extra color for the grayish blue since I don't have anything quite that dull, so I had to mix in some flat gray over a light blue. And then obviously I went a little Eisakusaku on the scarf. Love scarves. Schoolgirl uniforms not so much.

But man, Japan loves those giant wooden-plug-buckle "sailor jackets" I call them, don't know what the technical term is. And I love them, too. So cool, yet classic-looking, and guys and girls can rock them.

4/10/16

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Fun_IOHWIR_L

Studying the a ref the great Pomodorosa pointed out. I actually saw her artbook in the store one night and thought I owed her a buy, and it's quite an inspiration.

I'm trying to loosen up and not focus on matching exactly...I dunno how off this theory is, but I feel like worrying about being exact is not long-term what I should be after. I want to capture the essence, the spirit of the piece. Also helpful, I'm using pen a lot recently, so it's forcing me to make decisions, and stop worrying.

What, me, worry?

4/10/16

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Fun_HeartlessInTokyo

Hey, found an old sketchcard from one of my very first trips to Tokyo.

Drew and colored it on the Bullet train in, no major shakeups.

Lucky duck.

4/10/16

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Fun_MoreOrLes

A study of Les Twins with as simple, flat Copics as we can.

My gosh these guys are incredible.

4/10/16

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Fun_MoreOrLes_L

I'll be real, I think of dance as an inferior art, if it can even be considered art.

But Les Twins are one of the few entities who actually make me see and understand dance as art.

4/10/16

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Fun_Calt.Flarmy_L

Lines from an old Goblin token I was working on.

It's based on Florrie, of all people. I figure as a drummer, she'd make a great Goblin, since the gag is she's banging on stuff with a little mallet thing. Hilarious, right? Right.

Not sure what to do with this...straight to Copics? Inks? I'm guessing it'll be an experimental one, so I'm mainly posting this in case it goes horribly wrong.

No real reason to get on this though, since Goblin tokens aren't really in demand these days.

4/9/16

Reuxben

Fun_Looming

I've heard such great things about Andrew Loomis, so I'm starting to study him.

Hope that gets the magic going.

4/9/16

Reuxben

Fun_WrightIsle

This is a study of one of my favorite islands.

I actually prefer/love black, but I feel like we just never get cool or beautiful Swamps, for the most part. Islands are more like a given that they're gonna look gorgeous.

4/9/16

Reuxben

Hare_DoofNoShinpai

The final colors of this fully digital piece.

It was for some flyer about a dangerous street corner or whatever, and he's wearing one of their sweaters.

Notably, I was using my pre-KNKL coloring style, which I learned from studying Chamba and other cel-shaders.

After watching KNKL, I learned there was a bit of a cleaner, tweakable method using clipping masks.

4/9/16

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Fun_DTKcity

Another ballpoint study from the riot.

I was listening to an old MTG Potpourri while drawing this, hence the title.

4/9/16

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Hare_DoofNoShinpai_L

Linework for a dealio.

4/9/16

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Fun_BaseballBaroness

Son, this ain't little league; if you suck, get off the diamond.

4/7/16

Reuxben

Fun_BaseBallBaroness_L

Just drawing random stuff and seeing where it goes. Wanted to try like a bandana and like a tough girl, and then baseball got in there somehow.

4/7/16

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Fun_CityScoop

Studying in ballpoint from Jake Wyatt's post lately.

Environments aren't toorribly interesting to me, but it's not like I hate them. Backgrounds have actually been my bag, but I enjoy drawing them more as an OCD sort of pursuit of perfection, not so much for the sheer fun of drawing settings themselves. It's just a service to make the characters look better, and I love characters first and foremoist.

4/7/16

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Fun_USAUSAUSA

Found a photo of an old watercolor painting I did in '14, Fourth of July-themed.
I remember painting this in a Sukiya. I used to camp out there while eating the Mega Cheese Curry (thing is yuuuge), and after missing the last train home one night, I eventually discovered I could use that place as a sub-1000-yen hotel! Just buy whatever you want and you can literally spend the night there since it's open 24 hours! I later would use this sick tech during prerelease marathons rather than make the commute each day.

In fact, here's how you hack prerelease marathons in Tokyo: just hit the FNM leading right into the midnight prerelease (there's usually about an hour after FNM to eat at the local 7-11 or Family Mart before the midnight event), then jam the midnight until morning, then ride around and sleep on the train for a couple hours before the morning's Day 1 (I recommend getting onto the Tozai Line and riding that full circuit up and down since it will lap right back to Takadanobaba just in time), hit up the Saturday prerelease by no later than 30 min before doors, then when the day ends you pop over to Sukiya for a bite and a sleepover, get your boot back to the Sunday prerelease in the morning again by 30 prior, and then by the end of day 2 you're back on the train headed home like you just pulled off a heist. A reeking, stinky, sweaty heist. Don't forget to pack your infinitely futile Japanese deodorant. But it will do you no good, naive child.

Japanese deodorant burns and burns and burns, but it, like goggles, does nothing.

4/7/16

Reuxben

Fun_BosniaHerzegovina

One of my favorite words is "Bosnia-Herzegovina," just based on of how Christina Ricci pronounced it in that one SNL skit forever ago. I had no idea what that skit's context was back then, I just remember how funny the word sounded to me as a kid. Now that I'm older, I'm pretty sure it was about some awful human-rights crimes or war or something...don't want to look it up.

Anyway, long story short, this is a fudepen study from neat photo I saw one time.

4/7/16

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Fun_TattoodTears

Just getting rid of this hideous thing. One of my least favorite drawings of recent memory, done for Inktober '15.

Not enough black ink in the world.

4/7/16

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Fun_Calt.JombieShroog

And our final of the joomby we colored in-store. How about that.

Slightly worried it'd have too much of a circus or calavera vibe, but I'd say we landed all right.

It was particularly fun digging in on this background, using the XP from the other Copic-based bg I did.

4/7/16

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Fun_Calt.JombieShroog_B

Fairly foolhardy, but I packed all my Copics into my backpack for the SOI prerelease weekend so I could color during down time. Ever since I've been able to read cards in Japanese, it's become less crucial for me to hardcore-memorize the set before the weekend, since I can just read the set over a couple times and then look over cards on the spot to refresh my memory.

Well, I got to the midnight prerelease too late for the FNM beforehand, so I had a couple hours to kill before the Midnight, so I got to work on coolering this joomby, coolored live at the midnight shoop.

4/7/16

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Fun_SpookySpoopid

Spooky spooky, stoopy stoopy stuff for SOI.

Spupid.

4/7/16

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Fun_Calt.AlphaSchmoOooo

And our second spirit finished from our SOI prerelease prep.

One of my opponents was way into this one.

4/6/16

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Fun_AgoraphobiaToday

Trying out a little drill from Jake Wyatt.

It's raining today, so I'm happy.

But I have to leave the house, so I'm sad.

Life is about balance.

At least that's what the Cliff's Notes say.

And sometimes I just want to skip to the end.

4/6/16

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Fun_PossibilitiesSunken

A sketch from the train to Tokyo for the SOI prerelease.

Never is always the motive.

4/6/16

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Fun_Saltines

And some digital design dressing because whatever. I was thinking of those old Shonen Jump volume covers.

That's my favorite card, but the way.

Vontec comes from my finger slipping trying to type context. Basically meaningless words, just wanted words that looked nice as images.

Blah blah blah.

4/6/16

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Fun_Saltines_B

And then some simple base colors for the sketch.

4/6/16

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Fun_Saltines_L

This was just some posing practice that kinda kept on going.

4/6/16

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Fun_Calt.JombieStressTest

Moar Joombiez for the SOI prerelease.

This looks so pleasing from across the table, all those lovely purples just chilling up the joint.

This was my first time drawing with Copics, too, I just live-inked the background right in there, running mostly on instinct. Really fun, such a novel way to think about drawing.

4/5/16

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Hare_WorldTraveler

An old, abandoned concept. Woulda been neat.

4/5/16

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Fun_TalesOfIchabodFae

This was a G-Pen live-ink for Inktober '15, vaguely horror/spooky-themed.

I like the noose tie, but it's probably played-out at this point, if we're being totally honest.

Anyway, I figure her name is Ichabod Fae, a descendant of Ichabod Crane. The first born always gets that name, but she's a girl, so she prefers to be called Fae. She handles odd jobs that invariably have some horrific, fantastical culprit behind them, but she manages to bring the best out in them.

Monsters are people, too.

It's the humans you need to worry about.

4/5/16

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Fun_Calt.TrianglesOoo

One of our spirit tokens from the SOI prerelease.

I really, really like how sharp the heavy blacks come through when you see this dooder on the table, and the stars really give it some kick.

Good idea, me!

4/5/16

Reuxben