Sketch Ridge

Nerd Pride -- Office Romance

2012-01-17T12:06:00.001-08:00

Downtime doodle

2011-12-09T13:13:00.001-08:00

Random doodle during some work downtime. No back-story to speak of here.

Watery Oculi

2011-11-28T11:59:00.001-08:00

Digital sticky note doodle

2011-10-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

Drawn using the Sticky Notes program on Windows 7. Shading added in Photoshop. Who knows-- maybe I've started a NEW THING! No really- try it! There's no erasing unless you draw a zigzag line horizontally. You may erase many lines accidentally. And there is no undo/redo. Fun!

This one was unaltered in PSD.*

*Except I got rid of the blue thing on the left corner. Where the cursor is.

Nerd Pride #3

2011-10-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

Toy Fight!

2011-10-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

Random robot sketch became epic toy box battle...

*decided to up the lighting and shading a bit after the first time I posted. Probably not too noticeable.

Nerd Pride, "Engage!"

2011-09-30T21:06:00.001-07:00

Nerd Pride

2011-09-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

Cartoon couple!

2011-09-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

A design for myself and my husband, to be used in upcoming comic strips. =)

Nyan cat - too tasty for his own good

2011-08-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

(For those who don't know about Nyan Cat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyan_Cat)

All in on day

2011-08-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, Jessica Lockwood, and I went to the zoo and drew more there in one day than I've ever managed! Here's a majority of the drawings I produced.

Before and after! 10 years later.

2011-08-09T22:34:00.000-07:00

I got a furious inspiration recently to re-draw something, anything, that I'd drawn when I was a kid. The oldest stuff I could find was from high school, so I sifted through the books and I picked this one. I'd forgotten how much comics had an influence on my early drawing years. I'm still not super amazing with comic-style work since it's not what I do all the time, but it's still a lot of fun!

Feeling the summer-ness!

2011-08-09T22:30:00.001-07:00

I didn't used to be much of a fanatic for summer, but as I acclimate to Portland I get more fond of it every year!

New Andy comic

2011-06-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

Trying to imagine what goes through Andy's head is pretty fun. And yes, he will stare into his water bowl reflection for quite a while at a time.

More from the zoo!

2011-06-21T13:48:00.001-07:00

These drawings were still in red pencil when I left the zoo. Last night I finally inked them!

A life drawing.

2011-06-20T14:01:00.001-07:00

Sadly, few of my life drawings recently have been worthy of sharing. Which is what I get for drawing more animals than people lately.

2nd Saturday Sketch: June

2011-06-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

This month's 2nd Saturday Sketch was at the Rose Festival parade! This was something I'd never done before and revealed to be a great source of many fun characters to draw, both walking the parade and watching it.

2nd Sat Sketch - May @ the zoo

2011-06-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

Another ASIFA 2nd Saturday Sketch outing at the zoo. Fun!

2nd Saturday Sketch: April

2011-05-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here's my work from my first 2nd Saturday Sketch outing. We went to Pioneer Square, then wandered over to the PSU farmer's market. What a great way to work out the drawing muscles!

Find out where the next 2nd Sat Sketch will be at http://www.asifaportland.org/

My little hubby!

2011-05-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

I did a portrait of my honey! I think I captured his inner character.

Just 4 fun

2011-05-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of thing I draw when I don't think about what I'm drawing. The more energy, the better.

This was inspired by watching MST3K of an old and TERRIBLE werewolf movie. Not too happy with the wolfy, but the girl in this film needed to be an anime character.

Almost forgot...

2011-03-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot, I helped work on this commercial! I did some of the character animation in Flash.

Andy and the Mystery Thingy

2011-03-02T15:59:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the life of my big orange kitty, Andy.

(click for larger)

Doodles and life drawings...

2011-02-26T17:09:00.000-08:00

Finally pulled myself away from playing some Zelda and what do I do? Draw Link while I watch someone else play.

I thought drawing oneself as an adventurer would be a fun activity for artists. So I did that, although I'm not sure of the resemblance. And don't ask me why there was a Candy Cane Land scepter in a bear cave. Just go with it.

I liked the spontaneous pose this life drawing model did as she took a moment to sip some water, then held it. It's a simple gesture, but an honest one.

Karaoke Contrast

2011-02-26T17:04:00.000-08:00

These two are by no means caricatures of anyone in particular. But if you partook in the same anti-valentines day party as I did, you may know who inspired each.

Even though there's a lot of problems with this drawing, I still had to share it because it was such fun to draw.

Dood Doodle

2011-02-17T17:55:00.000-08:00

Upon testing my newly mutilated glove (I cut off all fingers except the pinkie so I can wear it while using my Cintiq) I found myself sucked into some doodles of dudes. I always envy those who can draw men well, particularly women who can do so, since we seem to have a harder time embodying the male persona. I cannot forget to continue to challenge myself by doing so.

Two Miles From Home at 2 Women's Film Fests!

2011-02-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

I am very happy to announce that my film Two Miles From Home will be showing at two Women's Film Fests this year, including Portland and San Fransisco! Yipee!

I don't have info about the San Fran fest yet but here's Portland's lineup!

http://www.powfest.com/schedule-2011.html

PSD doodle of the day...

2011-01-31T10:57:00.000-08:00

Random drawing of the day. Seems I've been extra inspired by comics lately.

A Friend's kiddo

2011-01-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine from highschool days asked me to draw a cartoony version of her boy. I've only met the kid once, but he seems a sweet kid with a knowing, unconcerned smile. Not sure if I got the resemblance right on, but I think I got the personality.

Attempt #2 at drawing the same kiddo:

Brush pen playtime!

2011-01-21T19:46:00.000-08:00

Recent experiments with my new favorite tool, the brush pen.

This one's a self-portrait. Couldn't decide what to draw, so I drew how I felt. Always good therapy.

Monkey business...

2011-01-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

My most recent zoo outing was spent mostly in the primate section, which I hadnt drawn in for quite a qhile. Here's the results!

This guy (a Red-Handed Tamarin, look him up!) was doing a great stretch down his branch, proceeded by butt scratching on said branch.

The gibbons are always lively and ready to pose.

The orangutans are always a special treat when they're around. The female likes to come watch us draw her.

This chimp has a piece of orange in his mouth.

Floofy-pants.

2011-01-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

I have finally discovered the only tool that helps me come close to capturing the epicness of my Mr. Floofy Pants. A.k.a. Andy. It's my new brush pen, which I think I'm slowly getting addicted to. Enjoy.

Another Buttercup re-design sketch.

2011-01-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

Now this is what I like to do when I procrastinate. This is how I'd re-design Buttercup. That girl brings me such inspiration!

Life Drawings

2011-01-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of my fav's of recent life drawing sessions. I'm always exploring tools but I think pencils, red or graphite, will always be my comfort zone.

more zoo drawings

2011-01-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

Please enjoy my most recent zoo drawings, up through the end of 2010. Must...keep...practicing!!!

Monster Pillows for the twins!

2011-01-02T11:44:00.000-08:00

And here is my latest monster pillows that I made for my twin niece and nephew, Roman and Giovanna. I included my kitty in one pic for size reference. The material is a fuzzy, soft textile of some kind (can't remember what) with felt facial features and basic yarn for hair.

More monster pillows

2010-12-07T16:14:00.000-08:00

More monster pillows! These two were also made as gifts. The left (green), for my friend Lena who's due to have a baby boy as of a week from today. The right, I made for my friend Ashley. Cuz I wanted to and it suited her. The hair was an experiment and I kinda like how it turned out. Now if only I can find time to make more...

Buttercup, my re-imagining

2010-12-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

I watched the Powerpuff Girls Movie yesterday and just had to draw my favorite of the trio for the first time in quite a while.

Monster Pillows

2010-11-21T15:04:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine introduced me to a brilliant craft-making idea, which I combined with my own designs and made-- monster pillows! The little orange guy on Andy's back was the prototype, which I gave to my husband Matt. The big one on the left I made for my 1-year-old nephew Gaius and the other, my 1-year-old nephew Milo. So much fun! There will be more... Oh yes... there will be more...

Posters for the kids

2010-11-12T15:18:00.000-08:00

My twin niece (Giovanna) and nephew (Roman) recently celebrated their 4th birthday. They also recently happen to move from a small appartment into a sizeable house, and now have rooms of their own. So, I took out my colored pencils and sharpies and made them some posters. These are drawn on 18"x24".

Kitteh comic! It's about time...

2010-11-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe it took me this long to make a comic of my kittehs... No longer! There will be more to come...

And photo proof!

drawing am-ah-nulz

2010-09-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

And here are recent drawings from various zoo sketch outings. Plus one of my cat Andy. =)

new life drawings

2010-09-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent life drawings of mine from various sessions.

Pony Pwnage

2010-08-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

This image is based on actual events. Of a Magic: The Gathering game I played this morning with my buddy Jesse. I had to draw out the scene of my armored pegasus who had two scimitar artifacts equiped to to and how it slaughtered his undead.

Gifted painting

2010-07-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

I made this painting for some friends of mine who recently had a daughter tamed Terabinth. I decided to make a watercolor painting for them with my favorite character of mine, Kayla, sleeping under a Terabinth tree. I took a couple pictures of the process.

Equipment: Being sure I have all of this is improtant. Note the sketches and color experiments before I start the drawing. And the hot cup of chai tea with cream on the side. Not too close to the brush-water, now.

Pencil and inking is done.

Added in some blue shadow before applying the watercolor to give it some depth.

The finished painting. Proof that a decent painting can be done with cheap equipment.

Framed and ready to give.

Painted fairy

2010-06-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a similar picture of my previously posted fairy, this time painted with watercolor. I added some lighting and shadow effects in photoshop.

Two sketch-paintings...

2010-06-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

Arming up for a toy war! This one was a lot of fun.

A candle and wine glass...

photoshop fairy funtime

2010-05-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

I fancied a little friday photoshop funtime. Forthwith. Fairy-style.

New goache paintings

2010-05-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

Still learning about painting! Here are some new pieces I did yesterday...

Watercolor fun

2010-05-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

I've been experimenting with paints recently, including watercolor and gouache. I think I've made some progress but I've still got lots to learn! The bird paintings were mother's day gifts. The firey sparrow (the South East Sun's Birth Sparrow) was for my mom and the duck (the Red-Billed Prismatic Merganser) was for my grand-mom/nana Gayle.

New cat tattoo design

2010-05-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

I know I said my last design was final, but this one I'm truly excited about! Now I just have to muster up the guts to get it for my b-day next month...

Bob the Zombie Fairy-- Next Project Teaser!!

2010-04-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Hey fans and visitors! I am working on a new project, written by my wonderful husband and myself. It's about Bob the Zombie Fairy, and I've done an animation test for our hero of the tale. Enjoy this little teaser.

painting in the park

2010-04-14T15:04:00.000-07:00

This is my first really complete watercolor painting. I walked to the park and painted a house nearby. What a peaceful way to spend a spring day!

Recent sketches

2010-04-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

Here's some recent zoo-outing sketches, plus a couple of life drawing sketches. Enjoy.

Fenbi music video

2010-01-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

Have you been curious at all about what I've been working on? Well, I havent been posting just some measly sketches because I've been lazy-- it's because I've been busy! If you didnt know already, I've been working for the past two months on a music video for a band I'm fond of and am friends with, the Fenbi International Superstars (look em up on myspace!). It's nearing completion and I wanted to post some screenshots to share with you the finished look. I hope you're as excited as I am to see this thing when it's done!

Gnome warrior woman on wyrm

2010-01-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

It felt like it'd been a while since I'd done a sketch just for fun that I made up while I went. And I liked it so much I got carried away wih the coloring, which is pretty rare for me. Yay!

Life Drawing - Dec 2009

2010-01-14T21:35:00.000-08:00

Here is some recent life drawing I've done.

another WoW sketch..

2009-12-10T11:11:00.001-08:00

This is a very quick sketch I did this morning... enjoy, fellow WoW nerds!

Portland zoo sketches

2009-11-10T21:08:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to the Portland zoo with a group of other artists and animators, which was organized by ASIFA Portland! It was pouring down rain but that didnt stop 13 of us. Plus, the animals seemed particularly close-up for drawing opportunities because they were chillin' near the glass to escape the rain. It was a blast! I cant wait to go again!

gasp pencil animation!

2009-08-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

For the first time since graduating from VFS August of 07, I have used pencils and paper to make some animation. The 4-legged walk assignment result was my least favorite and I'd been wanting to redo it for the past 2 years. I have now finally finished it. Yay!

Dragon-Tiger-Kitty tattoo

2009-08-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

This is a sketch for the tattoo that I want to get quite badly! It's not 100% finished conceptually, but it is very very close!

Sketchin' in the park!

2009-08-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

The other day I went to the park with my drawing supplies. Here are a couple of the sketches I came up with:

New Life Drawing!

2009-08-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

I've been blessed with a job (a contract job at Laika) that provides it's employees with life drawing every two weeks for two hours. These are some of my better sketches. Enjoy!

WoW comics

2008-12-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything, so I thought I'd show off a couple side projects I did recently. I made these World of Warcraft comics just for fun, and although you may not get them if you're not a WoW fan, I wanted to share them anyhow.

Ruby Rocket blog

2008-08-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

For those curious about the Ruby Rocket show, check out the blog. The latest post, Ep 3 composit test, was roughly animated by Sam Niemann and I did the inking and shadows. And be sure to check out the scene 421 fix that Sam gave me free reign on doing all by myself. He's so nice. :)

http://rubyrocketpi.blogspot.com/

Ruby Rocket- Private Detective

2008-06-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

I am now working on a cool new project, and all should get the opportunity to watch it!

It's called Ruby Rocket and it's being made into a web series and I've gotten the chance to animate on it! Below is the official website and the original pilot that started it all. Enjoy! (Now back to work for me!)

http://www.niemannworks.com/rubyrocket/

Kayla's Adventures, Book 1 preview

2008-05-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

With some time between jobs, I have found an opportunity to continue work on my kid's book, Kayla's Dreamtime Adventures, Book 1: The Loss of Hue. Here is a sampler of page 1.

Another Gift of Art.

2008-04-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

I did this piece recently for one of my lovely aunts, who recently discovered herself an artist and even more recently was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She created the bird character sitting on top of Kayla's head, and I just loved him, so I decided to draw our two characters together. She'll be getting it this weekend (shh! Dont tell!) : )

Bitfilm Festival

2008-04-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

After my Flash film "Politics of Progress" was requested by the folks at Bitfilm for the primary selection stages of the festival, I have just recieved notice that I have been officially nominated for the category of "Media!" Wish me luck!

Impness

2008-03-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

This imp came to me rather randomly while I was drawing the other day. And yesterday, I colored him. He can be seen on my business cards.

Two more Festivals!

2008-03-04T10:11:00.001-08:00

My classical student film, "Pretend," has been officially selected for 2 additional festival showings!

Thanks to Vancouver Film School for helping me to make this film and for submitting my film to these festivals. Couldnt have done it without ya! ^_^

And congrats to Tammy and Choom for also getting their films (Choom's Bobble and Squeek and Tammy's Hold the Mustard) in the Women's Film Festival! Great work, ladies!

C4G Baby!

2008-02-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

Just a little promotion for a project I'm working on --

SHAWKS!!!

I've been working for a Portland studio the last few weeks on this cool little webseries. One episode done by me is already available (A podcast titled "Silent But Deadly") featuring my favorite but rarely seen character, Phillip.

You can view the show and other cool stuff at the Shawks Homepage.

(Warning -- This show features some fowl language. :D)

I even got a cool T-shirt and some stickers for workin on it! Yes, I still got paid real money. :)

Mytoons Bumper Contest

2008-02-01T13:40:00.000-08:00

This is an entry I did for the Mytoons Bumper contest. Unfortunately I wasnt able to manage adding sound due to my lack of decent software at home, so I just turned it in as is. You can view a better version of it at mytoons: HERE.

(I've been having some issues with the AVI's I export so I apologize if this looks glitchy)

Children's Film Festival ~ Seattle

2008-01-30T12:55:00.000-08:00

The above festival is currently being presented by the Northwest Film Forum, and my student classical film, "Pretend" is being shown on the 26th, 28th, and Feb 3rd!

I havent been able to attend thus far, but I hope to get to go on the third (since I missed the other two). There are also some other animations being shown that were done by other VFS students, including Choom Lam's Flash film, "Bobble and Sqweek!"

If I am able to attend, I will post a report on how it went.

2/6/07 Update: Unfortunately, I was unable to attend. I was able to make it to Seattle on the 3rd to see Persepolis (which was awesome!!!) but I wasnt able to get my stuff together quickly enough to make it to the festival. (The show was sold out and I wanted to bring my husband and 2 guests with me... oh well).

More Kayla

2008-01-29T19:40:00.001-08:00

After getting some sketches from a talented friend of mine by the name of Tammy Dubinsky, I tried a new design for my Kayla character that I think is a little more interesting. But somehow, the character is starting to look like Tammy, even though this design is quite different from her designs! Strange... But, the design is likely to change until I get some writing set in stone.

Kayla

2008-01-29T19:33:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my sketches thus far for another concept I've been developing for a series about a little girl that has adventures in her dreams. The main character is Kayla, the big fuzzy guy is Fip, and the little alien dude is named Kork. I'm intending on starting production of the series by creating an illustrated book and see where I can take it from there.

Anise & Demi

2008-01-29T19:30:00.000-08:00

These are two character designs I've been kicking around for a comic/animated series concept I've been tossing around for a year or two. I dont have any script finished yet, since I'm still developing the third character and the setting and all that. But here's a preview of the character designs that I've got in mind thus far.

Animal Sketches

2008-01-29T19:24:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, I stayed with my pops in Portland for about a week and I couldnt help but want to sketch the many animals that resided in his house. He and my stepmom have 3 dogs and 3 cats, and these are some of the drawings I did of them during my stay (oh, and 1 or two of one of my cats that got in the mix). Oh, and obviously the cats were more in to posing for me than the hounds, heh...

Animation test for a Channel Frederator Raw posting

2008-01-22T22:18:00.000-08:00

I did this animation for a thread posting on Channel Frederator Raw. The character and storyboard was provided by the poster and I did the animation.