Parallels.

Something I ponder a lot about these days is character design and how much cartooning-down I want to do in general.

We love big, inviting eyes and people that are something like 6 heads tall - because let's be real, when you look in a mirror and realize how tiny your head ACTUALLY is in comparison to the rest of your body, it's actually kind of unsettling - and all sorts of shortcuts that make storytelling potent and hyperhuman. We also like to look at characters with either far fewer details, so we can inject ourselves into them and find them more relatable... or far more details, because then they deeply enrich the world they inhabit and become the opposing forces we pit ourselves against.

Long story short.

I was sketching and did 3 different Mae'houns, sort of as a test of how detailed and non-detailed I could get, with my usual style there in the middle.

Also, you know, to prove this point to anyone who's interested.

This little piggy.

No, I haven't updated much lately! I have been tackling all the yard work possible, then I came down with the Head Cold Of Death™ that's going around. The nice thing about being sick is that once I get well again, life is completely amazing and magical and I feel capable of doing so much stuff.

Did some inking the other day. My husband was kind enough to be my foot model.

Angry goddess.

Bathing beauty.

Just a little warm-up. Yeah, static poses are boring and don't require a heckuva lotta skill - but when I can do them well, I feel good about myself.

Assorted doodlings.

Things I sketch a lot of:

1) women in general;

2) eyes;

3) profile views;

4) clichéd fantasy babes

Just like being home.

For those who haven't already been informed by the other 3,000,000 social media I use, I have been experiencing a killer withdrawal from one of my psychiatric medications. It makes me do things like sleep until lunchtime, eat chocolate at every opportunity, and run away from home like a 5 year-old. Not kidding. I went to the park and sat in a tree for about 3 hours. Or maybe that's more like running away from home like a cat?

Anyway, I am finally on the up-tick, at least for the time being. Let me tell you, it's N-I-C-E... like, actually being able to experience happiness when it's warranted. NEW CONCEPT. In the midst of this new energy, I recently decided to try some more game/world design. I love terraced cities. So I'm trying to design a small, self-sufficient mountain community fed by an aquifer and/or glacial melt that begins at the temple, traveling through a system of canals. Caste clusters receive the water at different stations, and with varying degrees of contamination from higher castes. Sort of like the concept of a family bathing in the same water, with the head of the household receiving the fresh water and the youngest getting the skunky leftovers from everyone else (hence the saying "throwing the baby out with the bath water"). THE HIGH PRIEST HAS PEED IN YOUR WATER. DRINK IT AND BE GRATEFUL. There's also a cemetery and a couple pastures for grazing rotation. Did someone say yaks?

The fun little sketch that makes my designing chops probably look more impressive than they actually are:

The fewer the lines, the more honest.

Even though I spent several hours doing a portrait of this dog, I might like this rendition better.

Portrait sneak peek.

Urban abstract in progress.

Pigma Microns on Artagain paper.

What's a girl to do?