Lion Kiki Steps

and because I already uploaded it and it's no magic at all, just a very good brush

(click on the image to get redirected to the ... huge download >_< )

Basic steps as always:
sketch
flats (thankfully done by Lew)
painting
painting²
painting³
more painting
adding a background color
done

It's really no magic at all and the brush won't do the strokes for you. In the end you have to be patient and play a bit with the brush opacity and flow.

Trees in Panels

... can be total sucker...

 The actual size of the panel.... because honestly.. every tried to add details to the a stamp size? O_o I failed which meant working with 600 dpi was a good decision.

 sketch and ... flats done by Lew... and a long road to go...

 Adding the leaves, erasing a lot and adding branches because it looked unbalanced. Adding things and erasing things happens all the time. I made the sketch (I think) 7 months ago??? Some months later you pretty much feel a lot wise ;)

 Depening the texture of the branch without going too much into hardcore realism because that's what I 100%ly don't want to achieve (and never will).

 Adding a bit of light....

... and correcting the contrast and bluring out the end of every branch because it looks too hard otherwise.

Still need to do the background, foreground, birds, details and the... whole rest of the page but that's pretty much it.
The leaves are 2 custom brushes and before you ask for those: Create some yourself, it's much better if you know how your tools react and why they actually react like that. I am still updating and cleaning my own set and it's worth the time you invest.

11.11. impressions

 From the lovely Mirjam. Can't show the other thing since I got the prototype :3

 Whoot!

 My Marimos: Herbert, Kurt, Gundel, Hank and Frank.

 I hope I won't fuck it up.... always wanted a cube, never dared to buy one. Hantje & Tretel are looking forward to get Marimo and Pawn TV.

Tretel looking very important.

Thanks for all the wishes I got. Actually the most impressing one came from the absolutely great team of Burton. You guys rock so much! 

I'm currently working in a maddening speed together with Irene and Lew on graphics for them (and a pretty cool app I'll show off when it's available). It's one of those things you think you can't finish on time. But we did last year and we'll do it again. I hope so... at least.

Oh noes! So blue!

If you read via RSS you happen to miss all the fun. I'm still trying to find the best text format but otherwise you have to deal with cats now. ;)

I happen to sort through illustrations and finished comics right now and it looks like I didn't really do anything in the past year. Which is not true but ... didn't do a lot for Chubs. Hopefully that will change soon and a lot. I already feel like "whoa, crappy" seeing the old pages but it's a good sign. 

The bad thing about it is that I want to redo everything O_o

As always, Lew is my flat-cat. so if you want to know who's the best flat-cat on earth visit her blog and enjoy funny comics about my cats behaving stupid. >_<

Working on Chubs

Lew doin flats. Surprisingly we didn't try to poison, depress or kill each other after the first comics.

My regular place is either at the light table or the drawing board (hiding to get around complaints like "This is wrong... a fly doesn't look like a blob!" ).

2nd sketch... one comics undergoes 5 stages which is kinda odd (presketch, sketch, flats, final coloration, final touch up...).

and random nose pics of Hantje. The cats sleep all day next to our screens. I wish I was a cat... =_=