AO was a surprisingly huge success. Anime cons in general are not money makers for me since I don't do much fanart, and this was a very small con in direct competition with RTX. The hotel itself was very nice even though it's in a sketchy part of Austin. You take your life in your hands walking to fast food on Airport or Lamar. The hotel didn't gouge us for food on site. We paid gas station prices instead of hotel prices, but that's a vast improvement over the $8 hotdog I've seen at some cons ^_~

There was some confusion and table shuffling on our end of the hallway at load-in on Friday, but the dealer manager Matt Coats squared everything away. When there was a problem, he was very "I have the solution." And he proudly wore the Dirty Sanchez sticker I put on him, which is just pure evidence that he's a man of character. BTW, Torchy's Tacos is a great way to start a day.

There was great flow all the way down the hallway that Artists Alley was in. For a little while Morgan Meyer and I were worried nobody would come down our side since we were past the Dealer's Room entrance, but that turned out to be a complete non-issue. People came down to see us anyway ^_^ All the event lines started on the wall directly across from us so we had a captive audience several times a day. It also turned out we had the most reliable air conditioning in the hotel. The lobby was always sweltering. The units just could not keep up with people constantly walking in and out with triple Texas digits outside.

PACT! http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/p.....client-toolkit
Moriam Art! (Morgan Meyer) http://Moriam.Deviantart.com
Anime Overload! http://animeoverload.net/










Places I will Be!

San Japan (art show staff) August 16 – 18 http://www.san-japan.org/

Worldcon - Lonsetar Con 3 (art show) August 29 – September 2 http://www.lonestarcon3.org/

Dragon*Con (attending, art show) August 30- September 2 http://www.dragoncon.org/

Alamo City Comic Con (attending, dealer) October 25-27 http://www.alamocitycomiccon.com/

Is terrible for artists.

Now that I've tricked you poor bastards into reading this journal, please support PACT. It's an amazing project that is being severely underfunded. The head of Illuxcon recently posted a rant on the subject. This is sad for two reasons, one because he felt the need to rant in the first place, and two because his rant has forestalled whatever vile and obscene (and highly entertaining) rant that Jim had brewing in his head.

"To date, PACT has raised barely $10,000 of their $45,000 goal. Let’s put this in perspective; the Art of Brom kickstarter raised over $235,000 for a single art book. (Albeit, of course, an awesome one.) Hell, a Kickstarter project to put a miniature Tardis into orbit has raised over $88,000. So one must acknowledge the fact that a project with thousands of potentially professionally interested parties has raised barely ten grand is pretty damned sad."

Read the full rant! http://www.illuxcon.com/pact-the-rant/

And once you've done that, go support it.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/p.....client-toolkit
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/p.....client-toolkit
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/p.....client-toolkit



I will be at Anime Overload this weekend!


PLACES I WILL BE!



Anime Overload (artist alley) July 5 – 7 http://animeoverload.net/

San Japan (art show staff) August 16 – 18 http://www.san-japan.org/

Worldcon - Lonsetar Con 3 (art show) August 29 – September 2 http://www.lonestarcon3.org/

Dragon*Con (attending, art show) August 30- September 2 http://www.dragoncon.org/

Alamo City Comic Con (attending, dealer) October 25-27 http://www.alamocitycomiccon.com/

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/p.....client-toolkit

PACT

I am posting this because I know there are a few gaming industry artists and hopefuls in the fandom that might not be keeping tabs on the same circle of people. Anyone who is at all connected to or interested in the industry should find the time to listen to the panel that was held at Illuxcon this year. Artists Jim, Pavelec, Todd Lockwood, Randy Gallegos, Aaron Miller, and Mike Sass discuss the state of the industry and how we can affect positive change.

The result is an attempt to create an “Angie’s List” for artists and illustrators. There are companies out there who will not pay you for your work. I have 2 images in print that the company never paid for. This doesn’t just happen with small startups that flop. Large, established gaming companies that you have actually heard of routinely do this because there are routinely fresh faces that will fall for it. PACT hopes to be a place where artists can share not only bad experiences, but good ones as well. What companies pay on time? What art directors have a clear vision of what they want and the skills to communicate that so that revisions are an uncommon occurrence?

The people starting this group want to include all kinds of clients that an artist in any published field works with. They’re starting with gaming because that’s what they have the most experience with. Eventually they want to include feedback on book publishing companies, editorials, and web publishing.

Please, pass this video around to anyone who would be interested.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/p.....client-toolkit
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/p.....client-toolkit
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/p.....client-toolkit

I’m going to shut down commissions for June because of injury. I was bitten by a dog this afternoon, and while the wound isn’t large, it is on the meaty part of my right thumb. It’s painful to hold my pen, and I’m paranoid about reopening the wound because I bleed like crazy.

Thanks in advance for your patience! ^_^

Think of it this way: Any time you are showing off your artwork is a special occasion. You don’t necessarily need to put on your Sunday best (gallery/museum display standards), but you should at least make sure you’re not wearing a stained T-shirt that says “I’m with stupid” in big red letters.

The past few weeks I've been horrified by the display standards certain art teachers around here are teaching their students. There are first year startup cons that wouldn't allow the kind of display that they're applying to AP Art Seniors. Lead by example apparently means violently fight for the right to do everything last minute and settle for mediocrity.

In a fit of impotent rage I started to write a letter! That letter kinda turned into a handout I could give to kids coming to San Japan. That handout has then turned into a multipart explanation of convention art shows.

If you are interrested in doing an art show in the future, give it a read! And if you have questions that aren't answered in the article I will try to either answer them here or work in future sections.

http://corenewerhane.com/wordpress/?page_id=279









PLACES I WILL BE!

Anime Overload (artist alley) July 5 – 7 http://animeoverload.net/
San Japan (art show staff) August 16 – 18 http://www.san-japan.org/
Worldcon - Lonsetar Con 3 (art show) August 29 – September 2 http://www.lonestarcon3.org/
Dragon*Con (attending, art show) August 30- September 2 http://www.dragoncon.org/




Commissioners, please read my Terms Of Service!
http://corenewerhane.com/wordpress/?page_id=232
TOS verbage shamelessly stolen from  wolf-nymph because she said I could...

Prints Available!
http://nezumi.storenvy.com/

Hello everyone!

I passed jury for Dragon*Con. This is my first year for this convention so I opted for just panel space in the art show so I could walk around and experience the place instead of being tied to a table. I also get to hang out with my longtime ganking buddy from WoW ^_^ Feel free to stop and chat if you run into me. I promise Skeet and I will only corpsecamp you if you deserve it ^_~

I’ve also got more Wizard of Oz and other scenic painting pictures up on my website! There’s sadly a fairly large hole in my scenic painting portfolio. I lost quite a few pictures when my last computer bit it.
https://www.corenewerhane.com

PLACES I WILL BE!

Anime Overload (artist alley) July 5 – 7 http://animeoverload.net/
San Japan (art show staff) August 16 – 18 http://www.san-japan.org/
Worldcon - Lonsetar Con 3 (art show) August 29 – September 2 http://www.lonestarcon3.org/
Dragon*Con (attending, art show) August 30- September 2 http://www.dragoncon.org/




Commissioners, please read my Terms Of Service!
http://corenewerhane.com/wordpress/?page_id=232
TOS verbage shamelessly stolen from  wolf-nymph because she said I could...

Prints Available!
http://nezumi.storenvy.com/

I own a very nice Epson printer that makes very pretty pictures. However, I am terrible at keeping on top of my ink supply ^_~

So, I'd like to find a storefront cite that does the printing as well. Does anyone have a suggestion?

I like the quality at Inprint.com, but I've been sitting in their jury system for 8 months with no response to my Emails. I'm not nessisarily looking for any products outside of prints. Just something that's better quality than CafePress and not a pain to interface with.



Commissioners, please read my Terms Of Service!
http://corenewerhane.com/wordpress/?page_id=232
TOS verbage shamelessly stolen from  wolf-nymph because she said I could...

Prints Available!
http://nezumi.storenvy.com/

Painting the set for The Wizard of Oz musical has sapped my creative juices. Bone dry I tells ya! There’s nothing like going into a project with no rendering from a designer and no budget to purchase the “right” color. Here’s the paint we already have, we open in 3 weeks, make it look good. I totally made it through the first week without panicking ^_~

So to get me out of huge paint mode and back into the swing of illustration, I want to mooch your creativity! XD. I’m taking 3 commissions for single character with background for a flat rate of $150 each instead of my usual hourly rates. First come first serve.


Commissioners, please read my Terms Of Service!
http://corenewerhane.com/wordpress/?page_id=232
TOS verbage shamelessly stolen from  wolf-nymph because she said I could...

Prints Available!
http://nezumi.storenvy.com/

Commissioners, please read my Terms Of Service!
http://corenewerhane.com/wordpress/?page_id=232
TOS verbage shamelessly stolen from  wolf-nymph because she said I could...


The average person has very little respect for artists. I’m not saying they don’t respect art, because they love art. Even if they don’t understand the art itself, people understand the cultural and personal need for Art. But outside of the entertainment and advertising industries you find very few people who see a need for artists. I’m not sure how many conversations I have had where people ask me what I went to school for then laughed at me because I have a major in art and a minor in art history.

“Wanted an easy A, huh?”
“Didn’t want to take real classes?”
“How do you like being poor?”

These people hardly ever realize that they’ve just insulted me. The same people that claim “I wish I could draw/paint like that” look down on the person that did the piece. Apparently art is supposed to be a talent that you either have or don’t have from birth, and anyone who claims to have put effort into getting the skills to do art are just scamming.

Art is a lot of work. It doesn’t matter if you’re creating it for someone else or yourself. It doesn’t matter if it’s studio or performance. A singer might be born with a lovely voice, but it still takes hours of practice to train that voice to be able to perform. Visual artists have to train themselves to see the world before they can start drawing it. Artists can’t just translate the world into “tree” and reproduce it. We look at the contour of the trunk, the texture of the bark, the shape of the leaves, and the way light interacts with all of those things. Then we can reproduce that tree, or a fictitious tree that looks realistic. There’s a reason that prior to photography scientists were often very skilled artists. Their studies forced them to analyze the world and their pen was the only way to bring those studies to other people. Darwin’s sketchbooks are beautiful.


Prints available on StoreEnvy
http://nezumi.storenvy.com/

...but I don't know what you said.


Cons are coming up so I'm preparing myself to smile politely at a lot of people while I struggle to follow the conversation. I really do want to talk to people who come by my table. Unfortunately, I have mental problems!

"Auditory Processing Disorder. This is a problem with the way the brain processes the sounds a person takes in. It is not caused by hearing impairment. People with this disorder may have trouble Distinguishing sounds from background noise, Telling the difference between similar-sounding words, and Remembering things they've heard" WebMD

Even in a quiet room I'll completely miss about 1 in 5 words. Normally this isn't really a problem because I can fill in with context and partial lip-reading. In my daily life it doesn't effect me at all outside of some phonecalls. But you add all the ambient noise of a convention hall and I'm done. It's not at all fun when you're trying to do self-promotion :(

Please forgive me for doing the whole smile and nod thing when I get lost. I'm trying ^_^


Prints available through StoreEnvy!
http://nezumi.storenvy.com/

Prints available on my StoreEnvy page!

http://nezumi.storenvy.com/


I was talking with some digital artists the other day and heard something that’s come up time and again that still confuses me. Paraphrase:

“I don’t ever use the smudge or blend tools because it’s not real. I blend everything by color selection and opacity change.” Smug voice.
“How is the blend tool any different than using a soft long bristled brush to feather a wet blend in real media?” Me.
“…huh.”

Which started off a very interesting tangent on the prejudice of digital art within the digital art community.

There are some tools inside Photoshop, Painter, etc. that are considered amateur. Professionals would never use blend or smudge. Professionals would never use dodge or burn. Professionals would never set anything to screen, overlay, or multiply. These are statements we had all heard often, and everyone in the conversation knew these statements were false.

The interesting thing was that even knowing people use those tools all the time, some of the artists talking still felt uncomfortable using those tools because of how they think people would perceive their art. This is a concept completely foreign to me. I come from a theatrical background, which probably houses the most mercenary of artists. We’ll use any tool to get the job done before the show goes on. I’ve painted with a mop, a heavy duty shop fan, and a block of wood. As long as the product looks good on time, nobody cares how you got there.

The dodge tool is a fantastic way to add some contrast and pop to the focus of your image. Painting with a brush set to overlay keeps your colors vibrant in situations where the layering of a new color would dull down the area and make it appear muddy. These are viable tools that should not be looked down upon.

By the end of the conversation we had the problem narrowed down to a few points. When amateurs are learning programs they misuse the tools. This is true of anyone learning anything. Basic watercolor mistakes happen when you’re learning. Basic oil painting mistakes happen when you’re learning. Failure is part of the learning process (hear that schools?). But for some reason, digital mistakes aren’t allowed a learning curve. This might be because digital artists are still trying to gain acceptance in an art world dominated by traditional media. We just might be a more paranoid bunch of individuals.

“It looks like it was done on the computer” is still being used as an insult to the artist. Van Gogh looks like he used a brush. If the tool gets you the effect you’re looking for, then use it.

I've been struggling to find a shopping cart system for my website for a while with no luck. I've decided to give Storenvy a shot since it seems fairly popular in the fandom.

I'm putting a few of the leftover prints from GenCon up on sale to test it out! Prints are unmatted this time around. Once I'm more comfortable with the system I'll put up matting options.

http://nezumi.storenvy.com/

“This is just a misogynistic, glass-hating movie.” –Brian

So we like Bruce Willis movies. We especially like Bruce Willis revenge movies. So we thought “Set It Up” sounded like our kind of movie. And to his credit, all of the scenes with Bruce Willis were very good. The rest of the movie however, is an endless string of shoving women and breaking glass. There is not a table, window, door, or picture frame that makes it through any given scene. It was to the point where we were looking at the TV and calling the next broken item like it was an old Hanna Barbara cartoon where that thing over there is animated differently. This, in its own way, was a lot of fun. I’m quite content to riff my way through any movie. I’m just sad we didn’t have a full crew over for our bad movie experience.

Talking to art directors at GenCon this year started me looking at my work from a different angle. I come from a theatrical background, which has very different needs than that of the publishing world. I rarely worked with the same designer on multiple shows. As a painter, it’s important to be able to match whatever style is given to you quickly and in large scale. I think the variety in style seen throughout my gallery is a direct result of having worked like this for several years and being trained by 2 very different scenic artists. I tend to link style with media so that my pencil work doesn’t look like my digital work, and neither looks like my marker drawings.

However, this is not exactly a draw for publishers. They want to see a consistent style so it’s easier to plan image usage and overall visual feel for their projects. Based on this feedback I’ve taken a look at the kind of art I can do in terms of what I want to do and ended up surprising myself.

I find my work being influenced most strongly by the paintings of the Romantic period of the early 1800’s, specifically the work of Friedrich and Turner. If you’d asked me a few months ago what my influences are, I would have given you a list of currently working digital illustrators. I suppose my Art History minor has actually been lurking somewhere in the back of my mind all this time.

We just got back from GenCon and I am crazy tired! That is a full 4 days.

I had a great table in the Art Show right on a busy corner. Occasionally traffic would get cut off by an autograph line, but that didn’t happen too often and I was able to talk to some people who had no intention of going into the art show before standing in that line. I was next to Paul “Prof” Herbert, which was awesome on its own because I am clearly a ratling fan. He’s also a really cool guy. I spent a lot of time making silly faces at Aaron Miller who was across the aisle from me. He’s probably the only person I’ve met who can rival my camera shyness ^_~

Print sales were pretty consistent through all 4 days, which surprised me. Usually Friday is pretty slow since the 4 day art lovers come through on Thursday, the 1 day people come on Saturday, and the bargain hunters come on Sunday.

I got some really good feedback from others artists and art directors who were in attendance. I can’t wait to throw out some new stuff! My star prints were by far “Tag with Fishes”, “Arboreal Skate”, and “Saadet Hunting”. I got a kick out of how many times people tried to walk past my table and ended up stopping to look at “Tag with Fishes”. It was straight up cartoonish sometimes because the head stopped, but the feet kept going for another 2 steps.

We had a great time and I can’t wait to go back again next year!

San Japan was a lot of fun as usual. I pretty much never left the Art Show since I'm on staff, but let's face it, I was gonna spend all my time in there regardless ^_~ Sold most of my prints and handed out a few free con sketches. I made random friends with a woman from the Salsa competition that was being held in the hotel. I don't think we made any friends with the Dollar General corporate meeting folks that were in the other half of the convention center, but what can you do. Anime nerds and corporate are just not compatable.

Now I will be out of communication for a week or so as I am off to Gen Con in the morning. I have no idea where my table is in the art show, but I should be easy to find. Gen Con always sets up the show with a lot of room and great flow. It's been 6 years since I last did Gen Con, so I'm really excited/nervous. Come see me!

http://www.gencon.com/2012/indy/default.aspx

I've seen people upload art for avatars on Wolfhome for a little while now and got curious. So I did some searches, saw some screenshots of the chat rooms and thought "That sure looks familiar" And lo, it's a different company but it's exactly the same kind of chat I remember from my palace days. So I decided to look that up too. Hey! The PALACE CHAT STILL EXISTS! lol

You might not really see why this is funny to me. I was a member of The Anime Carnival 15 years ago. Yup, highschool. Met my first boyfriend in that chatroom. I used to cross the country to meet chatters at conventions. One of the mods paid for the tickets the first time I met my boyfriend in person. I dated that little Canadian tard for 6 years. Then I went to college, graduated, got a series of really worthless jobs to pay rent and generally turned into a grown up. So just seeing that little bit of archaic coding still alive and kicking out there was a nice blast of nestalgia.

Now I want to chat again! XD

But I'll settle for drawing more crud for my portfolio that's going to GenCon.
If you're gonna be in Indy for that come to the Art Show and see me!

So making a living only on art is very stressful. You're either stressing because you have too much to get done, or stressing because you don't have anything to get done and a looming bill on the horizon. So once again I decided, part time job! The problem is I have never actually had a part time job. I've applied for them. I've been hired for them. But within a month of every job I have ever gotten, I'm working overtime. Whether or not I'm hired (or paid) to be a manager, that's what I end up doing. I quit my most recent attempt at part time, so now I can get my woefully backlogged production schedule cleared up ^_^ I'm really working on getting some solid new work put together for my portfolio before GenCon.


If you're gonna be in Indy for GenCon, come to the art show and give me a holla!