Things went smoother today. Still having issues figuring out how to use the rulers and perspective. I’d like to be able to turn them off and on by layer, but haven’t discovered how to do that yet.

I find the manual nearly impossible to use. I will probably never purchase one of those e-reader things. Reading on the screen is just too difficult on my eyes. I also like to be able to flip back and forth quickly between pages. That is not happening with a 400+ page document on this old MAC.

I inked in the pathway and the house wall stones. Tomorrow I will attack the window and Snow White. I have to fix the depth of the stones in the window and still make the arm hanging out of the window realistic. I hope to finish with the inking layer during Friday’s session.

Here’s today’s picture:

inking layers for house wall and path added

I spent about two hours struggling with the perspective rulers and layers since the last entry. I’ve been using the “Beginner’s Assistant.” I figured, a brand new program, I’d need the help. I finally turned it off about an hour into this morning’s session. You know what? I am having a much easier time of it now. The assistant was being so helpful, I couldn’t figure out how to do the things I wanted.

I made some progress. Cleaned up the extra layers I had for no apparent reason. Made some adjustments to the granny figure and added in the basket of apples. I really don’t want to quit and move onto other things, but I have several deadlines for project that MUST be delivered before I head to Tulsa next week. So, I will have to come back to this after I have completed the things with higher priority.

pencil rough with inking layers overlay

Granny with basket of apples - inked layers only

At this rate I may finish this by 2011…

I decided after yesterday’s post that I miss my daily doodle warm up excersize.

Since I have grown tired of doodling goats, and I need to work on anatomy, I’ve decided to start at the bottom. So I give you  — FEET –.

Or in this case, a foot. AS you can see, I have a long way to go to make feet look human and not ape. LOL

Once I can get the naked foot to a point where I am satisfied, then I will move onto the clothed foot. IE socks and shoes.

Another area I am having troubles with are noses. I can do them fine straight on but from below and above is a challenge. But I’ll leave noses for another month.

I am having a love affair with Twitter. For me, it has been a wonderful experience. Better than any other of the myriad of social networking sites I have joined. Some I never developed. Some I developed but no longer visit on a regular basis. And some I signed up for a profile and after a while decided they weren’t for me and deleted the profile. All of them pretty much worked the same way, and as a person of visual output outweighing my verbal output, keeping them up to date and useful to my business wasn’t really giving me a measurable return. I like things I can quantify and measure. I get free stuff by being on Twitter. Artsy stuff I really want, but can’t justify spending $$ on because I have to buy more every day things like food, socks or school supplies.

I have been on Twitter for about a year now. I have connected with art and writer friends around the world. And I have conversations with them. Learn about things I am interested in and find out new information about things I never knew. I ‘attend’ several weekly chats, and in fact, I even co-host one called #kidlitart specifically focused on the business of art in children’s book illustration. All the chats are live streams inside of Twitter’s main stream and while anyone can ‘attend’ most people utilize a software organizer like TweetDeck or TweetChat to keep up with the flurry of tweets a chat can generate. (To see archives of previous chats go to the KidLitArt blog.) Another thing I’ve accomplished is connecting with businesses in a meaningful way. Hence the free ‘stuff.’ Did I mention this is stuff I really want?

A couple of weeks ago, a fellow artist tweeted she had intentions of buying Manga Studio EX and posted a link to the software’s web page on SmithMicro’s web site. I followed her link and became enamored with the program. A smattering of tweets between us over the next several days discussing the program followed. She went out and purchased it a few days later, while I decided I would have to put off a purchase of new software indefinitely. While the Manga Studio EX program is inexpensive as far as programs go, my priorities on where my funds are to be spent do not include new software for a while. Meanwhile, I spent delighted and drool-inducing hours watching youtube videos of other artists using Manga Studio.

Then I got an email! Someone at SmithMicro had seen my tweets and visited my web site. She viewed my portfolio and found my art unique, pleasing and appropriate for use inside of Manga Studio. Since my style of work is NOT manga but Art Nouveau, I guess it was unusual enough to warrant a ‘new’ usage for the company’s software. The email offered me a free copy of Manga Studio EX in exchange for a review. How fast do you want to bet I replied in the affirmative?

Several days later, I had the program install on my dinosaur of a MAC and was reading my way through the manual.

I had a work in progress at the pencil stage. I decided to use this pencil sketch for my trail run with MS EX. To make matters a bit more interesting, I am also finally using the stylus I have had for a while, but never utilized because the end result was never ‘organic’ enough for my tastes. So I am also learning how to use my Wacom tablet at the same time.

I am moving slowly forward with figuring out the program capabilities, but I thought I would share my progress with images from start to finish. (I am working in MS instead of doing my daily doodles. After all I only have the same 24 hours a day as everyone else. something has to be put aside.)

pencil rough for Snow White - Bad Apple

pencil sketch imported into MS EX and beginning inking (evil queen) - Bad Apple

The pen tools in MS EX are GREAT. I have total control over thickness and I am sure once I get used to the stylus I will have enough control over placement to forgo paper pencil sketches as well if I like.

My Twitter friend says she’ll still use Photoshop to lay in color. I’ll have to finish with the inking before I start coloring. Since I use watercolor for color because I like the bloom and mystery of it, this will also be an experiment to see if color is more ‘organic’ in MS EX.

More to come.

I tweeted early this morning about drawing something other than goats and @magelly suggested a chimera. He said it was kind of goatish.

chimera for @magelly

I never made it to the scanner yesterday. I am battling an infection and it is just sucking the life out of me. Hopefully, I will be fit and fine by week’s end. Falling asleep mid day when I still have a to-do list a mile long is doing nothing to keep my spirits up. At least the list is getting shorter as I complete project and can cross them off, even if I am not crossing off as fast as I like.

Yesterday’s doodle is an old goat farmer. Looks like one of my relatives. No names to protect the innocent.

Goat Farmer

See you all next time!