I’ve been working on setting up a page that shows my rates for commissioned art. Of course this meant going through the hundreds (thousands?) of images in my sketchbooks and files and making note of how long each took to draw/ink/colour/letter.  I kept finding stuff I wanted to scan to show you guys, so I did scan a few. The one above on the left is one of those. It’s a 3-by-5-inch sketchcard I made while waiting in the car for Mal to get back from the shops.  (I keep a pack of those blank cards in my knapsack along with pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and pens of various sorts and sizes. Like I said in reply to Bo’s comment last week, I’m never bored.)

Aedre’s Firefly is on a short break while the author deals with some important offline issues. Stay tuned. There will always be new content here and  the Aedre’s Firefly storyline will continue.

~~~

Process

The original sketchcard above inspired me today to try out some new ways of doing things digitally in the hopes it would speed up the process when I get to colour for Aedre’s Firefly. It did! I coloured all of those images in one 8-hour day.I really like being able to do colour comps before I attempt a painting. So much can be worked out quickly digitally before committing oil paint and canvas. I still haven’t worked out how to paint this guy, yet. A few more colour comps will help with that, but I did have a whole day of relaxing fun doing these.

I can’t remember where I saw this particular technique on the webnetz, but most likely it was on Chris Oatley’s website. I’ve watched a few of his videos. After a few weeks of thinking about what I think I saw, I finally figured out what that was he was doing. At least I think I did. I don’t see too well these days. Then again it could have been from a video made by my other current favourite artist, Noah Bradley. Anyway, I’ll let you in on my new technique next week. It’s fun! :`)

But the whole day I kept thinking… I wonder if anyone would want to buy these original sketchcards, small sketches, bookmarks, coffee-cup art, etc.  And once again the idea of a store came bubbling up to the surface. I need to get saving for my “retirement” years. lol

Anyway, the commission rates chart, with examples, will go up on it’s own page, once I feel comfortable with the pricing. When I was dying from thyroid disease before I got diagnosed, I had to turn down jobs. Now things are much better and I’m doing commissions again which is really really nice, but I’ve never posted my rates before, just worked out agreements with people. But, hey! I can still do that AND post my rates, right?

On the right is a slightly blurry scan of an original piece created in dry-brush style on Bristol, with an older Copic Brushpen that I hadn’t got around to refilling. I do like to keep a couple of the dryer brushes around to use for dry-brush techniques. It measures 8.5″ x 1″. It will make a fine bookmark for a larger sized book, or can be framed and hung on the wall. The original looks a bit crisper. I’ll try to get a better scan of it up soon.

Other News

We had a reasonably relaxed weekend for a change, even though Mal had to go Kayaking without me, due to the pollen season. *cries* He did, however, come back with some awesome photos. :`D

We’ve started watching some (newer) episodes of Dr. Who. Tom Baker was the last Doctah I watched. So far, I don’t think they’re as good as they used to be. Leaning too much toward the horror genre for me, and not campy enough. lol

That’s it for this week.  I still need Bearman’s snail mail address to send him his original art that he won, and George’s piece is awaiting my new eyeglasses so I can see what I’m doing to colour it.

Let me know if there’s anything you see on this site for which you’d like to purchase the original, for yourself, or for a friend or loved one.

Thanks for reading!

Aedre’s Firefly Awesome Guest Art by Mark Stokes

You can imagine my delight when I opened up my mail and found this beauty by one of my favourite cartoonists EVAH, Mark Stokes, creator of Zombie Boy comics!  In quite a different style from that of his webcomic and yet still inimitably his, he seems to have married the cuteness with a slight spooky quality. I love the eyes and the reflection therein! 

And now there is a slight puzzle: Why is there an American penny, next to the cute froggy on that lovely teak surface, in a comic about a Canadian girl in her own tiny hometown of Maple, Ontario?  Is Mark’s sketch prophetic in nature? Has he been reading the author’s mind in some way? I guess we’ll have to wait until the penny drops.  :`D

What a delightful piece it is!

Thank you, Mark! ♥

Be sure to visit Mark’s delightful Zombie Boy comic, starring Gorr, the Devil Dog. You’ll be delighted!

~~~

Process

Analog Penciling and Visual Impairment

I’ve been spending a lot of time chilling out as much as possible by means of working on non-digital art. My eyes have been really bad lately, but even at the best of times the loss of contrast is a big problem. Less of a problem working in digital media of course, but analog art requires that I pencil in a high contrast colour so I can still see it when I ink over it.  Non-repro blue just doesn’t work for me, so I had been using a crimson coloured pencil, scanning that art into the computer then inking on a separate layer in Photoshop.

On the right is a scan of some pencil work created with the crimson art pencil. Fortunately this one is to be inked and painted digitally. No worries about smearing the red and being unable to remove the stain from the Bristol.

Unfortunately that doesn’t work for me in non-digital/analog. I made a couple of pieces that turned out well, but when I tried to erase the crimson, it wouldn’t erase completely after inking. Red is the colour that provides for me the most contrast in the thumbnail/pencils stages, but where do I find a pencil of that colour that will not smudge while penciling, and will erase properly?

I’ve ordered a set of 6 Derwent Drawing Pencils from Dick Blick art supplies in the hope that they will suffice.The sanguine looks like it may be the closest match.

Though slower than working digitally –even on my beloved Cintiq, drawing and inking by hand is the more satisfying way to go. I never lose a piece of work due to a computer/program crash, and I always have original art to sell. I just wish it were feasible time-wise to do Aedre’s Firefly non-digitally.

Other News

Life the Universe and Everything

Life is full of unexpected life-changing events. Some can bring us great joy or even a little more peace of mind, while others immerse us in hassle, frustration, or even grief. And then there are some that we can do nothing about but sit on the sidelines and watch those we love struggle through events that are beyond their control. Sometimes it can all be totally overwhelming. That’s when it’s really good to know there are people out there rooting for us.  –just sayin’. ♥  Thank you, guys!

Be sure to visit the websites of the people who comment on Aedre’s Firefly. Every one of them is a creative person in their own right, creating awesome art and stories, and music, too.

Diminishing Eyesight

A trip to the eye doctor today has me getting new distance and new reading glasses. Once I get them back and try them out for awhile, I’ll see if I can get my polarised prescription sunglasses upgraded too. Eyesight has gotten worse. I can tell by when I look up at the moon and see five of them overlapped. lol Seems strange when you only have two eyes to see five ghosts of everything.  During the eye exam to determine how the eyeglass lenses should be corrected, nothing was really clear. He told me there was nothing that could be done about the ghosting. It was an artifact of the underlying Corneal Dystrophy. Oh well, back to the drawing board –preferably in very good light.

Allergy Season

On top of everything else the allergy season is going full swing and all I want to do is sleep, sleep, sleep. :`P  –At least my body does. I don’t! I got things to do! Sheesh!

How are you guys holding up against the oncoming tides of life?

I gave this to Mal last night with thanks for all his support and got his permission to publish it here. I wonder just what the blackbird and the groundhog are saying to each other about those footprints. and whose footprints are they? 

Thanks again Mal for playing in my caption contests! Enjoy your prize!

The ground hog in the sketch is based on the amazing photo Mal took of the one that lives in our yard. He, or she, is incredibly shy and darts away at the flicker of a leaf in a breeze.But Mal got a very closeup shot of it. Maybe Mal will let me show you that pic, someday.

Bearman’s sketch is done and I’m just waiting on getting some padded envelopes in which to send it. (Also need your address, Bearman.)

George’s is fully sketched and waiting for inks and colour.

Both sketches make me giggle, so I hope you guys like them. :`D

~~~

Process

Original Sketches In Non-Digital Media

The pic “Speculation” above was sketched first with a Copic Multiliner and then coloured with Copic brush-markers. Then I went over the inks again with a black Prismacolor brush-pen. The Multiliner tends to create fairly static linework, so going over parts of it with a brush-pen helps the work look more dynamic.

This from memory sketch of Merida from Pixar’s animation called “Brave” was also sketched and coloured on the spot, while I was sitting out a game of Princess at the local game shop. We played a brisk and exciting game of RoboRally before that and I was the first off the board. It’s a programming board game (sort-of) and I love it. I can even read the cards! There was some glare off the shiny board, but it wasn’t too bad. But I tire easily playing board game. Too much strain on the eyes, so I sat out the next one and did some art. I made three or four sketches while they played princess and coloured a couple more. But here’s Merida: The colours got washed out by the scanner, so I tried to quickly put them back in Photoshop. Not bad for a rough sketch, I guess. :`D

Other News

May is once again Bearman’s Charity Challenge Month

Check out his site, promote it, add yourself to his social media, place a banner on your own site, etc, and he will donate a specific amount to up to three of his favourite charities. If you donate to those charities yourself, he’ll match your donation for a specified amount. That’s the way I understand it. Check it out: Bearman Cartoons Charity Challenge. Now go and empty Bearman’s pockets!

Last year, for the challenge, I made Bearman into a Redshirt. You can watch the 8x-speed video of it’s creation here on YouTube.

Thanks for reading!

I’m not sure if this is someone Aedre is going to meet on her journey, and if it is, I’m not sure if this is the final version of how he/she/they will look.  But I find that making character sketches is an important part of the story-telling for me.  I sketch these out, usually (like this one) not even bothering to pencil first, and then spend time ruminating the possibilities. Who is this, what are they like. Just how “alien” are they. Of what kind of religion are they a priest? What could this creature have to do with Aedre? Or do they have their own story to tell?  What do you think?

~~~

Process

Since I have no guest art to show off to you this week I thought I’d share a character design I started working on yesterday. I thought you also might like to see the original, sketched out with a Copic Multiliner. I started the sketch with the weird eyes and then added the nose, they eyebrows and the head. The hand got out of hand (I really should pencil first) but it now really does look like an alien hand. :`D  The came the clothing and the background and finally the details.  Those curliques have religious importance to the character. They represent the Life Tree, and all it’s branches.

Sorry about the fuzzy pics. Shot with my little 4th gen iPod.

Next time I’ll show you some sneak peeks of the original sketches I’m working on for Bearman, George Ford, and Mal for playing in my Easter Caption Contest. I’ve finished the one for Bearman and I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out! :`D

Other News

Computer System Upgrade (kinda)

I haven’t been online for most of the week. I’ve had my internet computer off in anticipation of revamping my work set-up as I add in a second APC BackUPS 1500. No more worries about losing work when the power goes off. Both computers will now shut themselves down in an orderly fashion about half an hour after the power goes out.  That will give me plenty of time to finish up any details and save what I’m working on. This makes me exceedingly happy! It’s like having a huge comic buffer, only with power! :`D

Got both computers back online at about 10pm today (Tuesday) and then had to rush to get this blog written before midnight. lol

Guest Art by C.A. Morgan for Aedre’s Firefly: Aedre and Moira

I love this truly beautiful digital painting of Aedre with Moira, the mysterious child from beyond the portal from Chella Morgan’s “The Drako Universe Graphic Novel”.

There are some strange coincidences between TDUGN and Aedre’s Firefly. Aside from them apparently being close to the same age, another coincidence is Moira’s full name, Moira d’Aerde. Pretty close, eh? Another is that both stories involve portals between worlds/dimensions. Also, it’s possible that Chella and I may be related somewhere in the distant past through the Morgan side of the family. We are also both musicians and composers (see Chella’s “EXTRAS” pages) as well as writers/artists. I do like strange and wonderful coincidences. :`D

So go and read TDUGN. Chella is doing awesome work and is currently revamping pages and adding to her story. She assures me she will be starting to update again *soon*. Stop by and give this talented lady some comment love.

Process

Shhh! Don’t say the “H” word!

As you may already know, I’m on a break for awhile, but still doing character sketches and working on completing the strips for this chapter which will hopefully be the end of volume one of Aedre’s Firefly.

Once that is done I’ll start updating again, and will release a pdf of volume one. In the meantime I hope you will enjoy here the guest art of other talented comic creators, and visit their sites and read and support their comics, too.

I still need more Guest Art in your own style, featuring your own characters with Aedre or with any other of the characters you’ve met here so far, if anyone can manage it. 1200px wide and a height of your choice. Please keep it family friendly. (talking to you, Bearman) ;`)

Other News

Aedre’s Firefly Chapt VII: Choices (Part 27)

Looks like someone is obsessed by the idea of finding Aedre and… and what, I wonder? How will Mrs. Gryffin react to Mr. Gryffin’s parting remark. Will Mr. Gryffin temper his… ah… temper… once he cools down enough? Or will every moment of time that passes serve to enrage him further? And what’s happening at the shack in the Gorge? How’s that picnic lunch coming along? How much trouble is that interfering young froggette in? These and many other questionss will be answered as the tale slowly unfolds after a short-ish break.

This will be the last storyline update for awhile. I’m still penciling the next batch of strips and I must admit I’m getting a bit burned out. Summer’s rushing in on me, vacation with the family will happen soon. I have open spots for guest art if you’re interested. Keep it family friendly at 1200px wide (any height). Any fan art or guest art I receive will find its way into the ebook/pdf, and, when it comes time to publish it, into the trade version as well. Thanks for helping out!

Aedre’s Firefly Easter Caption CONTEST WINNER:

We had a low turnout for the Easter Caption Contest, a total of three entries. I guess everyone was pretty busy. (I hope it wasn’t the art that was the problem) I had a hard time deciding between two of them. So I’m going to give prizes to all the entrants. Bearman gets a small collectible art card just for joining in the play, Mal gets an 8×10 sketch of his choice, and George Ford will also get an 8×10 sketch, but of my choice. All will be original art sketches by me. I’ll be in touch when they are ready to mail out to you.

Thanks for playing guys! ♥

~~~

Review: graphic novel online  Snow By Night

I think you will enjoy this strange fantasy tale as much as I am. It takes place in a world called Corthis:

It weaves together the fates of a couple of rapscallion thieves and a winter spirit who is looking for her heart. And you can almost see how the whole thing is making life more complex for the hapless thieves.

There is very much a colonial atmosphere to the story, including some somewhat sinister aspects. There are Guilds. One in particular governs things like how much life-force an alchemist may suck out of any person unlucky enough to badly need the money that is paid for this. (“Blessings” is what the coinage is called there.) The period costumes are delightful. The architecture ranges from interesting to stunning. The relationships are intriguing. So far it seems to be a delightful romp.

The comic is put together by a veritable host of people. So, once you’ve read and commented on the story, check out the creators of Snow By Night.

There is also an Almanac page “…to provide you with the facts, rumors, and cant of this new world .”

This is the first really good long-form webcomic (#lfwc hashtag on twitter) I’ve found in a while. If I had the time I’d go into greater detail.

Process

Once again, a week has simply blown by in what seems like seconds! It’s one of the problems that comes with aging. Mal took Monday off work though. The sun was shining for a few hours. We thought about doing the Jumble. We went to our favourite bakery, had lunch and coffee, and for a couple of hours we both drew stuff. I made three small book mark designs and another collectible art card. Mal came up with a cool creature design!

It was nice to get away from the computers for an afternoon and relax and do art. We never did look for the paper and do the word Jumble©.

Sometimes its an important part of the creative process to simply change pace and venue.  Here’s a pic of what I made:

I also made a collectible Art Card of one of Wheeler’s relatives which I’ll show you at a later date. I’ll be adding colour with copic markers to the pieces shown above.

Other News

My second APC UPC arrived as I was typing this, but I’m pretty tired right now, so I’ll put off adding it to the systems until tomorrow. I’m really pleased with these, especially the software that shuts the system down properly if battery power drops below a certain amount –(an amount that can be set by the user). Fan noise is a bit of a problem, but the whole house is full of fan noise, from the air cleaners to the furnace fan, not to mention all the huge computer fans.

But now I’m broke again and can’t afford to do any kickstarters for quite awhile. I really really wanted to get in on Travis’ Art Book kickstarter though. I love his work and his style.

I guess that’s it for this week. Keep working to realise your dreams and keep creating. ♥

Aedre’s Firefly Chapt VII Part 26

…But one it was inevitable someone would ask. Now that mummy has gotten her way and is being driven back to her place of work it’s time to take the edge off by placing the attention back on the family scapegoat.

Mummy’s being somewhat evasive n’est ce pas? I’m not sure every family has one. Mine did. Did yours? Or have you been acquainted with a family where one of the people in it was thus designated?

~~~

Thank you!

Thank you all for your kind wishes last week! Though I’m not feeling much better, it’s more of an emotional overwhelm now. Certain (personal) problems have come to the fore that have to be dealt with both inwardly over a period of time and then outwardly. And as is usual these things come in threes.

I won’t burden you with the details. suffice it to say that there will be a slow-down in publishing Aedre’s Firefly and all the more need for some Guest Comics form those of you can spare the time.  If you can help out, I’ll need them to be 1200px wide and whatever height suits you.

I have already received a very touching beautifully painted piece from Chella, the writer/artist creator of The Drako Universe Graphic Novel (TDUGN). It features Moira, an important character from the TDUGN universe. I can’t wait for you to see it! But in the meantime you can check out her graphic novel in the link. It is a mysterious story full of strange magicks. I very much look forward to reading more once she gets through the next set of updates. I believe Aedre and Moira have some things in common…

Review

See above.

Process

We had our first thunderstorm of the year last night. The power going out once overnight for a very brief period and then again this morning as I was  getting breakfast. Though the sun was shining brightly by then,  it looked to be set for the power stay off for awhile so I set about shutting down the computers and unplugging the mobile devices so their batteries wouldn’t drain. And patted myself on the back for purchasing awhile back an Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS), a large battery backup for the computer which will shut down the main computer but not my second one (need to get a second UPS for that when I can afford it).

Then of course I set myself up very comfortably in the front room (on our new sofa!) to try out my new set of lettering and cartooning nibs on various types of Bristol: Plate, Vellum and Smooth. The plate seemed to be supers smooth, and the nibs didn’t work so well on the vellum, but would make for a nice grungy effect. Smooth is what I usually use, and I think I’ll stick to that.

That exercise was fun but then the power came back on, and with it the guilty prickle of a reminder that I hadn’t yet written this week’s update to go with the comic strip.

I found the nibs to be better for drawing panels and lettering than for the actual inking, so I’ll stick to my Copic Brush pens for inking for  now. :`D

Other News

Only one more finished piece in the queue after this one. Quite a few penciled but none finished. I’m trying ot decide whether to ink each one and then upload it, or wait until the whole batch is finished. I’m leaning toward the latter.

When I started this well over three years ago now, little did I realise how much of my time it would occupy. Especially since it wasn’t supposed to be a graphic novel, but a 15- to 30-panel very short story. It has rapidly taken over my life. I’m still writing it in my head, still thinking about it all the time, and of course still thumbnailing, pencilling and inking it. I lately forced myself to start playing games again to give myself  something else to do besides this work. I was burning myself out. I still need to find a balance between work, play, and relationships.

I used to read over a hundred comics, many of them on the day they updated. Now I regret to say I hardly have time to read a few. Most of those comics I do read are being created by you, people who comment here on Aedre’s Firefly. I read those first, then I read some that send updates to my Twitter feed. Not every day, though I do try to catch up. I re-tweet when I can. And I try to spend a few minutes on Twitter, off and on, chatting with people there that I have come to have a deep respect for.

This website needs a complete revamp. I’d like to get things organised so that there is a proper story line with chapters, and a way for people to find their place. Though Comic Rocket and Ink Outbreak both can provide that service, I’d like for it to be available on the site, too. As well, I’d like to have a “Landing page” where new readers or returning readers can click through to the beginning or an earlier chapter without seeing any spoilers in the current strip. I’ve seen that done well in a number of comics. Hominids comes to mind first in that regard.

So much to do, and then life throws a wrench into the already not-s0-smooth working machinery. Ah well. We cope. And as the song says “…get by with a little help from our friends”. Thanks, my friends. ♥

Aedre’s Firefly Chapt VII: Choices (Part 25)

I always hated it when my parents started arguing in the car when driving somewhere –especially when they started thumping one another for emphasis!  I was constantly bracing myself for a car accident. I guess cars drove slower then and there were fewer of them on the road compared to today, so it never happened.

Fortunately, Aedre isn’t in the back seat this time.

~~~

Process

Just been sketching and doing a bit of penciling htis week. And watching Manga Studio 5 instructional videos. I’m thinking of going for MS EX 5 when it comes out.

Other News

I’m pretty exhausted right now. I may need to take a complete break from the comic soon. There are some finished pieces in the queue. Don’t be surprised if you don’t hear much from me in the next few weeks…

Aedre’s Firefly Chapt VII: Choices (Part 24)

Looks like the frog has her own agenda. The Shack Man’s caution about non-interference seems to have gone in one ear pad and out the other. But then, we don’t know whether she verbally agreed with him by the end of that conversation or not.

When I was a kid living with scary adults, I did that a lot, or used distraction as a way to get out of agreeing. As an adult it has depended on the situation.  What about you? Have you ever maintained silence when you knew you were going to do things your own way, regardless, so you could satisfy the part of you that hates to break your word? How did that work out for you?

~~~

Easter Caption Contest

I re-worked the contest image so that it would be more fun to colour, and took out the word balloon (aka speech bubble). So here it is: Feel free to download it and colour it.

The Caption Contest ends on Friday this week, so get your caption-cap on and lets see what you can come up with (that isn’t scatological in nature) lol (click the image for the larger downloadable version)

Process

Didn’t get much accomplished this week toward adding new strips to the queue. I did however work on a number of new character sketches and put together a template to print out some blank Artist’s Sketch Cards.

I’d like to have a few pre-sketched for when people want them.  I’m experimenting with small ones to start with each card will be 3×4 inches. I can get nine of those from my 9×13 sheets of Strathmore Bristol.

Other News

Still sick, or perhaps sick again. :`(

Chapt VII: Choices (Part 23)

It looks like Aedre is still holding her cards close to her chest. Not giving the Shack Man an inkling as to whether she’s staying or not, though she sure looks tempted to do so.

~~~

Aedre’s Firefly Easter Caption Contest!

I didn’t want to hold up the storyline so rather than replace the strip queued for this date I’m adding the piece below. If you’d like to win an original sketch from me, please enter the contest with your dialogue or caption in the comments below. You may enter as many times as you wish, and everyone is eligible. Keep it clean, and in the spirit of this comic. There could be more than one winner, too, if there is more than one clever (or endearing) response.

Also, feel free to download the larger image (click the image to open the larger one in a separate tab) and print it to colour it (or colour it digitally). If you link to your coloured pics I’ll make a page to display them all with your names added. Enjoy!

Process

I’ve been a bit under the weather this week, but I did get one more knotty transitional strip finished, as well as this Easter Contest piece. I hadn’t realised how close to Easter we were when I started the thumbnails last week. I do wish they’d just pick a day for it and be done with it instead of moving it around all the time. Unfortunately the process of doing so might start a whole new set of holy wars. ;`)

I had hoped to colour this piece but being unwell and the time constraint forbade it. Luckily that means you can colour it if you like. And if you do colour it, let me know.

I’m getting antsy for some straightforward drawing and inking over the next few weeks, since I mostly have gotten through the switching back and forth between overlapping times and venues in the story. At least for now. And though they are yet to be published, quite a few are finished (as much as any art can truly be called “finished”).

Other News

Summer Guest Art Needed for Aedre’s Firefly

I’m hoping that some of you will be willing to create some guest art for me that includes Aedre and one or more of your own characters.

If you can help me out, I’d need the art (800px wide) roughly by the first week of May and I’ll be most grateful.  Or if you want to send it to me sooner, I’ll get it in the queue right away for the correct date of publication. Please let me know soon. Thanks for considering this.

Todd’s Sketch Arrived!

He posted a photo of it via Twitter last week.  If the link is still working here it is “Aedre in the Mill Gorge“. Thanks for playing, Todd, and thanks for being patient.  And best of luck with today’s contest!

Still not feeling that well, so I’ll stop here.

~~~

Thanks for reading Aedre’s Firefly and

               for your encouraging comments! <3