March Has Arrived...

...which means spring is JUST AROUND THE CORNER!! Honestly, I just can't wait! Spring is easily my favorite season. Everything comes back to life after a long winter's sleep. The flowers and trees are revived, the birds come out to sing their songs, animals are giving birth to little babies and...the world is just so beautiful and peaceful. Spring is just fantastic, even with the pollen and allergies, spring is the bees knees! ^_^

...and speaking of insects, I'm continuing with my "At the Bath" series. This time, here's Mari, my butterfly.

Mari has gotten a little color change with her hair. Now, it's a softer berry crimson as opposed to the darker plum she had previously. Her wings are so bright and light, it struck me as a little odd that her hair clashed with it so much. Besides, Alima has dark purple hair, so it'll be represented! ^__~

Anyhoo, still working hard on Hybrid. I'm going to spend the day getting as much of it done as I possibly can. Wish me luck!

Hybrid: Gods and Demons Issue #2 - COVER ART

...well, yeah, I just have the cover art to share right now. A few panels are done and it's coming along swimmingly, but, it's not out, just yet. God willing, it'll be ready by the end of May ^_^ Anyhoo, for now, here's the cover art. I have been working LITERALLY ALL DAY on this to get it done and finally...it's finished!

I've restructured this cover, taking a clue from the Sweet Shoppe cover...namely, putting an appropriate logo and tag with the release date and pricing information. I took the sketch that I was working on the other day, inked it by hand and spent the entire day coloring and polishing it up. ^_^

I really hope you all like this and hope you will be looking forward to this issue. It's late, now, so I gotta get to bed. See ya later!

Busy Bee...

...well, I have been as busy as one, as of late and...I've been working on designs for one, too ^_^ Yeah, I'm talking about my sweet little Miele, the honeybee from my series "BELLA MARIPOSA". Yesterday I got up and started sketching. I was supposed to be working on "HYBRID: Gods and Demons" issue #2, but I couldn't summon my muse for it. I've been a little tired lately, but trying my best, behind the scenes.

Anyhoo, today I decided to add a little color to the images I worked on yesterday. This is Miele at the Bath. I had done one before of Mari and had the urge to do one of Miele as well. So, this is her enjoying a quiet moment at a little pool. This is also the first time I've illustrated any of the insect people with something that helps to show how tiny they are. The droplet of water helps to prove the point to that end.

OH! Since this was a soft, intimate scene, I muted Miele's colors a bit to help enhance the tone and all around feel of the piece. ^_~

Now, this one is actually NOT a bee, she's a butterfly and a character that I had drawn ages ago...but for some reason, simply never uploaded. I think I just plain forgot that I had drawn this ^^; Anyhoo, this is Acacia (tentatively...whenever I look at her, the name Sheena sticks to her and I keep calling her that. Sheena was supposed to be the name of the third butterfly, but we'll have to see, I guess.) Anyway, she's the daughter of the butterfly emperor and empress. But, because the rulers of the butterflies is elected, NOT born into the rule, Acacia has no official title as her parents do. She's just the daughter of the monarchs...and a lovely, dignified lady. She's also the only of the main characters to have a steady lover (TBA). They're expected to take each other to mate for life. So, with all that being said, here's Acacia!

OH! I should also mention that Acacia's wings are not shown in this illustration and that her colors are subject to change ^__~

OKAY! Lastly, I went back to Miele to really flush out her design. Mari is completely designed and ready to go, but Miele wasn't as polished. ....one thing in particular that bothered me about her design was her wings. I wanted them to look like actual bee wings...not those cartoonish-generic-insect wings...you know, the short, round wings given to fl

ies and bees. So, after doing a bit of research, I came up with a design that I was satisfied with, at last! They may change slightly but for now, I'm happy with them like this. So, before I say "goodnight, folks!" here's Miele, once again but this time in her regular colors...AND in her uniform!

...I should also mention that this is a rough tablet sketch, so the anatomy isn't 100%. But, this is pretty close to how she'll appear in the comics. ^_^

Bright New Year!

Well well well...the new year is already upon us and I am SO BEHIND with comic work! *cries*

I was transferred on the job under the case of a promotion, but, the hours were long and the management less than favorable. So, I got behind on work, just a bit. But, now I'm back where I used to be and things are back at a reasonable pace, thank God! And, I'm back to work.

Ah, but even though I'm late posting this, I did want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Here's to a favorable and flourishing 2011!!

What A Difference A Little Color Can Make!

Wow! Long time no write! ^^; I've been busy. Today I was working on a character from an old series that I shelved a while back. But, it was an interesting bunch of people and the leading character beckoned me to draw her this past Saturday. So, after spending some time sketching her out, she then insisted that I go ahead and color her, too ^^;

Ah well, what are you gonna do. Anyway, this is that character:

Her name is Alima and she's from my series, Serpentine Blue. She's a sea snake hybrid and has gone through more design changes than I can count! LOL! But, speaking of changes, I was thinking about the supporting cast of this story after I had finished her and, for the heck of it, I wanted to see what color scheme could possibly work for a different character. So...I tinkered with Alima's colors and came up with this:

It was strange seeing her like this because in this way, she's like a whole different person! It's so weird! But, I do like this color pattern, so I'll probably use it for someone else. ^_~

Well, I think that's all for me. I have one more commission to finish up and then I have to get started on some work for Shanda Fantasy Arts and then move on to my comics, Hybrid and Sweet Shoppe. Wish me luck!

More from the Bugs...

Yeah, it's just Bella Mariposa. I've really grown accustomed to that title. So, this will be the series of short stories or the mini-series that will appear at the end of both Sweet Shoppe and Hybrid...both series that I hope to have second issues for by next summer. With luck and a heck of a lot of hard work, I'll make it happen ^_~

Having come back from my second convention of the year, I know that I must make this happen. I was tremendously pleased with the near sell out of Sweet Shoppe and the number of people asking for the second issue of Hybrid. I can't begin to say what that means! ^____^

So, this story will appear at the ends of each coming issue of those two series. It'll be good to have something to work on when I'm stuck or low on inspiration for those two stories. But, more on that later. For now, that's all. see ya!

Oh! Here's the latest imagining of the leading character, Mari:

Bella Mariposa!

...or, Bella Maribeeposa. Something like that. Anyway, look for more from this mini-series...or end series...or whatever...coming soon in issues of Hybrid and Sweet Shoppe.