Finished "Pinky Cyclops"

Finished. A little black outline and some warmer more loud pink and it's done.

Almost done

Now i have added the main image on top of the stamped background. It is just a base coat of the image and has yet to be refined. It will be smoothed out or textured, then I will outline it with a somewhat heavy black line giving it an almost animation or cel type feel. You will have to wait for the next post to see the finished product though.

Starting the actual Painting

This is my next stage. I painted a white canvas blue, making sure that it is smooth and even so that i could stamp the pink images on evenly. I made a stamp of my original clean drawing with sculpy and stamped it across the blue canvas, trying not to be too uniform.

Next step

This is the refined thumbnail. A clean drawing of my subject.

Art in action

This is the thumbnail. I usually start with a doodle or a thumbnail.

Space Shuttle News!

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer 35 minutes ago

Atlantis' astronauts spent their first full day in orbit Friday scrupulously checking their ship for any launch day damage, as they steered ever closer to the international space station.

The shuttle was brimming with birthday presents for the station's scientific skipper, Peggy Whitson: a $2 billion European lab that she'll help set up and all kinds of spicy salsas.

Atlantis is due at the space station on Saturday, Whitson's 48th birthday.

"My present is a new module that we're going to install on board the station," Whitson, a biochemist, said in a broadcast interview. She put in a special request for different kinds of sauces to spice up the space station food. "It gets a little old after being here for several months," she explained.

Her roommate, Daniel Tani, who turned 47 one week ago, couldn't wait to get some fresh shirts. He ended up spending two extra months aboard the orbiting complex after fuel gauge problems grounded Atlantis, his ride home.

As the shuttle drew closer with every circling of Earth, the seven-man crew inspected its wings and nose for any sign of launch damage, using a 100-foot laser-tipped boom. The images were beamed down to Earth for analysis by engineers; a quick look revealed nothing amiss.

Some pieces of insulating foam fell off the external tank three times during liftoff Thursday, but none was big enough to pose any threat, said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team. A small piece may have bounced off Atlantis' belly seven minutes into the flight, but lacked enough force to do any damage, he said.

The laser inspections have been standard procedure ever since NASA's space shuttles resumed flying in 2005 following the Columbia disaster. Also mandatory: shuttle somersaults right before docking, so the space station crew can photograph every inch of the ship's thermal shielding.

Shannon said the board in the engineering troubleshooting room was blank, the first time he's ever seen it that way.

"We have a long way to go on this mission, but I absolutely could not have asked for a better start to it," he said.

The astronauts' real work begins Sunday. That's when the 23-foot Columbus lab will be removed from Atlantis' payload bay and attached to the space station with robotic cranes. Two spacewalkers will assist in the operation.

Columbus is the European Space Agency's main contribution to the space station.

Twenty-three years in the making, it was supposed to be launched in 1992 to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage to the New World. But station redesigns and stalled construction, as well as shuttle groundings, led to 16 years of delay.

Interesting Commision

So I am actually getting paid to sort out a collection of G.I. Joes. I have to sort them, find all the weapons and match them, order rubber bands for the insides of them that have rotted and broken and reattach them, and build a custom shelf to put them all on. How cool is that?! There are over 300 figures and countless weapons. I can't wait to get this all done. It is going to look so nice. I will keep you up to date on my progress and let you see the finished product. Here's a pic of what I was given to start with.

Wave Three of Futurama from Toynami

Yet another exciting installment of the Futurama Universe in plastic! I'm glad we get Kif. I really enjoy that character. I hope wave four will be the Professor and Hermes. I want my Planet Express Spaceship as well. One big enough that the figures fit inside.

Xena Mobile lives

Well, after three years the car I love most is all up to date on tags and insurance. I just got a clear title finally because the bank I originally had the loan with had gone under or merged or something and no longer existed and they had never sent me the lien release. I had to file for a lien released title. It all went pretty smoothly. Now all I need is some savings to get new tires, struts, overflow tank, an alignment, new window motors on three windows, new seal for the trunk, some grease in the door hinges, a new trunk lock, new paint, super detail cleaning from head to toe, and some time (which I got). Oh, and I need to get that exhaust off the ground and back on the car. No big deal. This was my first car, and let me tell you, it's still the best car I have ever driven. Hopefully she will be up and going in no time! Remember I do commisioned artwork, so if you want to help with the Xena Mobile Fund please feel free to contact me for some artwork. Check out this link for more info on my art and how to contact me. If you don't want artwork, but you do want to help, just click the donation button under my profile and donate $1.00.

Marshmallow Warning

My Mom never had to cut my Marshmallow into "bite-sized" pieces. What would John Locke say?

Heroes almost Here

Arriving June 2008 at Entertainment Earth! Heroes! I like the show, but not enough to buy the figures. Well, maybe the cheerleader.

Applying Myself

Well, I just applied for consideration to Ugallery.com and I hope they will let me in. It is really difficult to get into any gallery unless you know someone, but this online gallery is for people freshly out of college up to ten years out. Hopefully I can get in there and establish myself. The commision is a little steep at 50%, but that's no more than the 60% the Mainsite Gallery here in Norman gets. Most galleries get about 40%. The ugallery site was created by these college students after graduation because they had no idea what to do once they were out. Unlike Engineering or Law, the college Arts don't prepare you for the real world. You don't have a clear path to follow once your out. They help you learn how to price your art, which I definitely need, and do the marketing and promotion for you. They also have a great shipping method set up through UPS. Still, there's nothing more nerve-racking than handing over a piece of yourself to be shipped off to god knows where. well, let's hope I get in. I'm supposed to know in 2 business days, so what?...Monday. Yipes.

Reason to knit

So T found a reason to start Knitting. She found it on google search. If you don't watch Dr. who and absolutely love it you won't understand. I thought it was hilarious and had to pass on the pic.

Another moon shot

Here's another shot. Beautiful. Sometimes it's hard to fathom it's just a big rock floating out there.

Wow! Look at the moon!

What a beautiful full moon we had tonight. I caught it coming up around 7pm cst.

Cool "Creature" sculpt from Sideshow!

Love the old movie monsters? Check out this awesome sculpture of my personal favorite, "The Creature". Estimated for the 2nd quarter of 2008 for the price of $349.99, this beautiful monster is 1:4 scale and cast in Polystone. Each one is individually numbered and they are limited. Sideshow Collectibles also offers Flexpay in case you don't have the whole $350.00 to shell out right away. Go here to check out more!

Soul Calibur 4 meets Star Wars!

Hey Game Geeks! Go check out this website for a sweet trailer for the next Soul Calibur game! I have loved this game in the past, all the way back to the original Soul Blade, and now I have more reason to love it! Still not sure about clicking that link? Check out the still from the game for more incentive. A big o' Thanks to Chris for sending me the scoop!

What is this?

I took this photo at the zoo. I am always looking down checking the ground out. Floors, pavement, etc. It used to be a self-esteem thing, due to puberty, acne, and shyness, but now I do it because of the weird things I find. I have found over $300.00 in my life just looking down. I have found cassette tapes, CD's, G.I. Joes, Star Wars Figs, and more. I have discovered almost every manhole is unique and different. Smoker's are the trashiest people on the planet followed closely by beer drinkers and Fast food junkies. You never find organic milk cartons on the side of the road or in your yard. Wal-mart receipts however seem to be able to travel for hundreds of miles. I have even found a winning scratch off lottery ticket in my yard. This photo though is one of those things that just begs the question, What is this? I mean, it's a nut with a rusty washer around it with a white circle painted around that, but what for? Is it a super special nut? Does it release the lions? Who knows? There it was though, in the pavement on the path at the zoo. Kinda looks like a booby.

A Good Investment

So, say you have $5,000 to $10,000 burning a hole in you pocket and you want to invest in something. Stocks? Bonds? Mutual Funds? Screw that! How about investing in something that not only brings a tear o' joy to your Fanboy/Fangirl eye every time you look at it, but is also going to appreciate in value? Just head over to Alex Ross' Art page and pick something out. You can buy original Alex Ross art! Right now the "Heroes" TV series graphic novel cover watercolor is for sale. Can't afford that? How about the original pencil sketch? There's a heapin' helpin' of comic art as well. Sure to be looked back on as someone who changed the comic world and influenced a generation of new artists, Alex Ross Art is the way to go. It would be a really great way to tell your #1 Fanboy/Fangirl you loved them this Valentine's as well. (hint,hint) Anyhoo. Go check out his site, it's worth a good look!

Old School Flash Gordon Figures!

I may be the only person besides Alex Ross to want these, but hooray they made them! Right now you can get Sam J. Jones rendition of Flash and Max Von Syndow's(?) version of Ming. The really Merciless one, unlike the surfer dude one on Sci-Fi. There is also a black robed version of Ming as well. Now if we can only get the princess and Timothy Dalton's version of the Prince. They are located at Entertainment Earth's Website listed in my Links.