Final Stage: A Place to Heal Shaded

It took me a while to get this up. School has just started for me and I've been spending this whole week trying to get my schedule in order so it makes sense. The original concept for this piece was done about 3 years ago when I needed to heal the most. I never finished it and moved on forgetting all about it. Fast forward to 2 and a half years later in the winter of 2008 when I found it and decided to revamp it. Most of the image stayed the same but again I didn't finish it. Fast forward again to about 3 weeks ago when I found the first revamped unfinished piece and decided to attempt to finish it. It was then that it occurred to me that the picture needed more of an entire overhaul and to be updated. Since I have now been blessed enough to know what it feels like to finally heal I was finally about to take this piece to completion, and I think it's finally where it should be.

Stage 3: A Place to Heal in Color

This is by far the most unattractive part of the process. It's streaky and blotchy and often frustrating to look at. Normally, I'm not at this stage very long because of these reason, but I take solace in the fact that by tomorrow it should be finished. It won't look anywhere near this when it's finished and most of these colors will be darker or lighter depending on the way I shade and light everything. The parts that have no color are either undecided or I didn't have the color in marker. I use Faber Castel and Tombow art markers because they blend well and absorb well into the paper. Everything will be less blotchy and streaky when I'm finished.

Stage 2: A Place to Heal Inked

I'm probably the biggest fan of my inking style, and of great inked line in general. It really makes details pop. I used to ink with single, thin lines but it didn't look very good especially on bristol paper, but thicker line on cold pressed paper is much better because it absorbs ink well. The best thing about using those thicker lines is that it can cover and fix a lot of mistakes made in the inking and even in the coloring process. I used a colored ink pen for the flame and the bubbles because I want them to look less cartoonish when I add the color. Inking is a way of cleaning things up and making the vision in you mind and on the page more clear.

Stage 1: A Place to Heal in Pencil

I should have done this a long time ago, but I think it's time for me to show my process. I think it would have been more effective if I decided to do this yesterday when this image was nothing but unrefined circles and squares, but I didn't think about it until just now. So, this is how it starts out for the most part, as you can see I'm a perfectionist and there's a good chance that this image will change throughout the rest o f the process. Since I'm still in the pencil stage I'll be lucky if I don't feel the need to make some changes.

Salome and the Head of John The Baptist

I just let the idea fall to the wayside until Friday night when I figured it all out and made some note about what it would eventually be.

Always in Wonderland

No matter where I go I always end up feeling out of my element and lots of strange, adventure scenario type things happen.

Heartbreak Cafe Menu

I got kinda pissed off thinking about how if my heart was a person I would do awful things to it for getting me into all sorts of emotional trouble... then I got hungry.