5 Dragon Sketch and Flora in Winter Begins

Here is a sketch I made of five dragons that will be in my web comic series, Zheph Skyre. There is a light dragon, spirit dragon, fire dragon, cosmos dragon, and a wind dragon displayed in this picture. Before I start coloring it in Photoshop, I want to figure out what to have in the background. I believe that is something I should have thought for certain dragon sketches ahead of time before I started to color them in.

Today Flora in Winter has officially started today at the Worcester Art Museum. I have been taking many pictures, but I would like to finish collecting pictures before I post anything about it. Besides that, I am too tired from a long day at work to work on a long blog. The next few days will be the same. Expect a blog post on Flora this Monday or Tuesday depending on my web comic. Or visit the museum yourself, and discover what all the commotion is all about!

Rideback

I finished watching an Anime series called Rideback on Netflix. I was interested in watching this series after I saw an Anime Music Video (AMV) at Connecticon. From what I saw in the clips of the series, it looked like an interesting concept.

 

(This image is from http://lilacanimereviews.blogspot.com/2012/09/rideback-review-english.html)

The series takes place a future where the world is run by an organization called the GGP. Rideback is about a girl, named Rin Ogata, who had dedicated most of her life to ballet, but she quits after sustaining an injury at her performance. By a strange coincidence, she happens to come upon the Rideback Club at her college, where the members work on and ride these vehicles called Ridebacks. A Rideback is a hybrid of a robot and a motorcycle. Rin takes a special Rideback for a test spin and ends up joining the club.

The action scenes where Rin is on a Rideback are awesome. It is obvious that her movements on the Rideback are influenced by her years as a ballet dancer. The Ridebacks are able to ride with the legs spread out in a split much like a ballet dancer might, and when the Ridebacks are in standing position, they are much like ballet dancers balancing on their toes. There are other characters that also have some interesting action scenes.

Unfortunately, there is a long period of dreariness in the series. At a certain point, Rin stops driving on Ridebacks and the episodes focus on everything else going on in the government with the GGP. Terrorists are shown using the Ridebacks, but they are nothing like Rin. She rides one in the finale, but for a series that is only 13 episodes long, it is weird that it takes so much time to see her ride again.

(This image is from http://www.weeatfilms.com/tv/anime-review-gungrave-setting-standards-surprisingly-high/)

This series caught my attention more than Gungrave. I began watching the first episode of that Anime series and began to feel bored with it. The characters are not that interesting, the action has been seen better elsewhere, the designs of the guns look like the same in other series, and monsters shatter like glass when they are shot which is just ridiculous.

Rideback at least has better characters and it caught my attention from the start. Usually I don't care for the use of both 3D and 2D animation in a series because it doesn't match up, but Rideback pulled it off nicely. 

Rideback and Gungrave are owned by Funimation. In fact, most of the anime I have watched on Netflix are all owned by Funimation. There are not that many other companies that will translate Anime, and even fewer that have agreed to work with Netflix.

I think I might cancel my Netflix subscription soon. After finishing season seven of "Supernatural" and since I am almost done watching what they have of "The Walking Dead," there really isn't much left I want to watch. I heard from someone that Netflix has lost a lot of stock and has cut the number of anime series. I have definitely noticed that.

Page 55 is Up But Not Not Complete & Web Comic Site Updates

I have uploaded page 55 of Zheph Skyre, but it is not quite finished. It still requires a lot more detail in the coloring. I was a little busier these past few days than I thought I would be, and with Flora coming up, I will be even more busier. However, I will still update this web comic!

I have also updated the store and my fan art page. I should probably write out more a description on each page.

Flora at WAM & My Cafe Press Store

Flora in Winter is coming back to the Worcester Art Museum this Thursday. It shall be interesting to see all of the floral arrangements. I will take as many pictures as I can.

Unfortunately the Kennedy to Kent State exhibit is closing this Sunday, so unfortunately this upcoming week is the last to see it.

I have finished my Cafe Press store for the moment, and I have attached buttons to the store in my portfolio website. I have yet to create buttons for them in my web comic site, but that will not take long.

Page 54 of Zheph Skyre

I have uploaded page 54 of Zheph Skyre to my web comic page. Here we see Vanessa is in her room cleaning the makeup off her face and her mother comes to visit. I didn't want to reveal Vanessa's face without makeup yet. I believe this makeup style Vanessa has speaks a lot about her character just as her normal face does. For those who have seen the picture of her in black and white from a while back, it isn't hard to figure out how Vanessa looks without makeup.

College Design Remade Digitally & CafePress

Here are two designs I made in a class I took at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth. They were entirely made with cut pieces of paper. The assignment was to take four colors on one square, cut them each into four squares, cut those pieces into four separate pieces each while maintaining the same repeating shapes, and arrange them into a particular pattern. We had to do this with two separate whole squares, but with separate designs and different colors. I decided to go with fiery colors for one while creating cool colors for the other. I was very pleased with the results.

Unfortunately I was not pleased with the quality of these two designs. I decided to scan them into the computer and remake them in Illustrator. I am now wondering if I should have these designs repeating eight more times
in order to create a larger pattern. I think I will try it and see how it comes out. If I am pleased with the results, I will post these two in my portfolio.

Also, I am currently putting together a CafePress Store instead of what I have right now for my web comic site. This would have many more options of what people can buy to have printed, and it would save me a lot of time, money, and shipping in order to keep a store up. This store will be available on my portfolio page and my web comic page. I won't be able to use all of the images I have on my portfolio page, as some of it is considered copyrighted. I am considered using every page of my web comic series as prints though.

Arisia 2013: Part 2

 There was quite a bit to see besides the Student Art Gallery at Arisia. There were panels, merchandise, advertising, and other things going on at this convention. There was even free food in this one area. Unfortunately it was all mostly cheap snack food that with a "first come first serve" rule, but most conventions I have been to only had free water available. There didn't seem to be any known restaurants in the immediate district of the Westin Waterfront, so they probably didn't have many options. Sure the hotel had a food cart selling food, but it was all considered expensive for cheap food.

I ran into two people I didn't expect to see at this convention. One was a college friend, the other a former coworker. I was really glad to see them both. All three of us appeared to be there not just to see the convention, but to participate in it as well in one form or another.

Among a few of the panels I went to were "Artists as Entrepreneurial Heroes", "Write What You Know?", "All About Kickstarter", and "Making a Video Game". These panels seemed very interesting and very helpful for certain aspects I am considering.

 Here's the Program Guide they gave everyone for the convention, of coarse there were other forms that they gave as well in order for people to figure out where and when to go. It was a little complicated, but this was an interesting image to see.

There are plenty of conventions for all sorts of reasons everywhere you could possibly think of. I even picked up a form for a Fairy Convention. There's a science convention that will be at the Westin called Boskone, there will be a 21+ Anime convention in Provincetown in Cape Cod called Nauticon, and there will be a science-fiction/fantasy convention in New York called Lunacon. These are only a few conventions on the East Coast of the US. There are a great many more conventions on almost any subject. It will usually just require for people to save up money to go to.

 There were quite a few tables selling merchandise ranging from board games, cards games, and video games to used books and leather gear. Here we see a business card for Crossed Genres.

 Anna Erishkigal, author of the fantasy book series "Sword of Gods" had a table at this convention to advertise her books. I found the covers interesting to see, and from what I heard, this series is about warring angels including Lucifer.

Arisia has already picked out a date for next year. I find that hard to believe considering that most conventions I have been to have withheld posting dates for next year until after a few months go by.

Page 53 of Zheph Skyre and I am Back on Twitter

I have uploaded page 53 of my Zheph Skyre web comic. Here we see Vanessa leaving the dinner table with her food. She seemed to be troubled at Luther's last comment, so what is she going to do? Her father and Luther appear to be clueless about her behavior, and her sisters are trying to give her a hard time. Vanessa's mother however appears to share her pain.

I have decided to try to update my Twitter account as much as I can. I'm not sure if I update it as often as my blog, or if I will be able to update both of them every day. I was suggested to update my Twitter feed before I try to get funding on Kickstarter. I could really use a new computer, and I might require some help to print this as a graphic novel once I am finished. I might even try to get funding to make this into an animation series some day if I get enough funding.

Arisia 2013: Part 1

I had just come back from Arisia 2013 yesterday. Supposedly this convention ended today, but I only went to it on Friday to drop off my artwork, Saturday to check out the convention itself, and Sunday to pick up whatever pieces of artwork and prints I had left. Unfortunately I did not sell that much, most likely because my artwork itself was mostly expensive. I am glad I at least got to get a little word out there about my artwork.

There were quite a few pieces of artwork on display. There were many fantasy pieces, a few science fiction pieces, some strangely humorous pieces, and a whole area of three dimensional artwork was on display. There was quite a few pieces of artwork that truly impressed me. I was glad to see some pieces received an award for popularity.

Here we see some artwork done by Ruth Thompson. Mostly her artwork is very dark, which I prefer. I think I might have seen some of her work on DeviantArt.com though.

 

I forgot who painted this, but it was surely impressive. I believe this was an older, more experienced artist though.

Here we can see some 3D artwork done by Kristian Brevik. I really liked the paper creatures she made, especially the spider hanging on some string. The detail appears to be very intricate.

There were many cosplayers at this convention. Here, we see a mermaid laying down having fun just letting people watch her and take her picture.

Here was my artwork. The only piece that sold was the painting in the top left corner. I was at least glad to see someone appropriate my work enough to buy it, even though it sold for the cheapest bid.

Now at Arisia

(This image is from http://2013.arisia.org/)

 

 

I was not able to upload the next page of my web comic today. I had to upload an image from the Arisia convention website instead. I had no access to a scanner today, so I had no choice.

 

Next Monday things should be back on track. I will upload some pictures I will take at the convention tomorrow.

Arasia Preperations

I have been working on the next few pages of my web comic and have been trying to get ready for Arisia. I am hoping to get something up for my web comic on Friday before I have to drive out to Boston. This trip might cut into coloring the next two pages by Monday.

I've added mugs to the list of prints I am bringing to the convention to sell. I have a feeling that the cheaper items will more likely sell.

I'm hoping that while I am at the convention, I might get some work done on my web comic and some sketches.

Page 51 and 52 of Zheph Skyre Finished

I have completed pages 51 and 52 of Zheph Skyre. I like how these pages look. I have never tried the black in the gutter. Usually that is used in manga for flashbacks. I decided to use that and a minor tint in the frames in order to display that it is clearly a flashback.

I wanted to show that Luther is completely sure of himself now on page 52. Whether or not his plan will work is still yet to be determined. Who might he have hired to track down Zheph? Where does our protagonist hide? Why does Vanessa seem uneasy about all of this?

I forgot to put the prices down in my store. If anyone buys anything through Paypal, it will show them how much each item is, but I definably want to show people the price for each item. I also should probably describe the images I have used to make these printed items.

I should also write up some descriptions about the fan art that I made in my fan art page.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

 

(This image is from http://www.hdwallpapers.in/2012_the_hobbit_an_unexpected_journey-wallpapers.html)

 

I watched this movie last Thursday. I was looking forward to it for quite a few months. I loved the "The Lord of The Rings" movies, though at times I found J.R.R.Tolkein's books a little hard to read at times. I might have gotten lost at certain points in the books and was surprised at certain points in the movies at what happened. It was still very awesome to read and watch though. It was nice to read "The Hobbit" since it was written as a children's book and therefore easier to read. I thought this movie would have been much easier to make, especially since this book was made into an animated movie by Rankin/Bass years ago.

I was surprised to find out that "The Hobbit" was being split into three movies instead of one. I thought that sounded ridiculous. If anything, "The Lord of The Rings" movies might have just been easier to make into six movies since each novel was written as two books each. However I was pleased at what I saw in Peter Jackson's latest fantasy movie based on J.R.R. Tolkein's writing. This movie wasn't just "The Hobbit," but it contained parts from the Silmarillion, Tolkein's "Bible" for "The Lord of The Rings" universe. I can understand a little why this book was divided into three movies, as there seems to be two other climaxes in "The Hobbit" that it would just be weird to have in one movie. This movie had to concentrate on Biblo finding the Ring, his desire to stay, and his purpose within this group of adventures. The next movie will most likely lead up to the recapturing of the mountain from the dragon Smaug. The third would therefore end with the War of the Five Armies.

This movie contained what was awesome about the movie trilogy years ago, though it did have it flaws compared to "The Lord of The Rings." As certain movie reviewers have mentioned, it doesn't seem like the main story is as impressive as a possible apocalyptic annihilation as certain aspects are addressed in certain scenes. It was also a little hard to feel sympathy towards every single dwarf character there is in the story. With Gandalf and Bilbo, there seemed only four or five dwarves out of It was still an awesome movie that is one of the best movies that have come out for this winter.

 

It appears this story is rather difficult to transform into a movie. As movies have three Act structures, books can have numerous chapters that can make the flow much more uneven. These books might have worked better as a television show of some sort. It was still awesome to see it all as movies though.

Considering RA Salvatore's "The Legend of Drizzt" series is 13 books long, the most I can expect to ever see any of it being transferred to another medium is for someone to make it a television or a web show.

Page 51 of Zheph Skyre in Black and White & my Sister's Birthday!

Here is page 51 of Zheph Skyre. Here we see flashbacks to Luther's failed attempts to capture Zheph. He has been hung upside down, stuck to a wall with a strange goo, and yes, he has even had his tongue stuck to the crotch plate of one of his subordinates in cold weather. I thought it would be a hilarious gag to pull off for Zheph.

Today is my sister's 29th birthday. Happy Birthday Adrienne.

Next time I will write a blog about "The Hobbit; An Unexpected Journey."

Zheph Skyre Fanart & Store Page

I am creating a fan art page for my Zheph Skyre web comic. It will contain fan art I have created for other Anime. Usually I don't prefer to make fan art, but I will sometimes make an exception.

I do want to have artwork done by other people of fan art on this web page, but I doubt I have enough fans for it. Perhaps I have to hold some sort of contest DeviantArt. I can't think of anything I could possibly give except for certain items I have printed.

I will have a new store page completely on my web comic site with much more affordable things like prints, magnets, and other things soon.

Zheph Skyre: Pages 49 & 50 Complete

I have uploaded both pages 49 and 50 of Zheph Skyre. They have both been colored in finally. I hope at some point I can get every page uploaded in color from now on.

On page 50, all three of the princesses agree that Luther is entirely useless. Luther gets angry and claims that he will capture Zheph for some foreign Duke. The king suggests there is another reason to his anger.

I have uploaded more text to the main page and I have uploaded comment boxes on each page. Feel free to comment on any of them.

Anime Boston Vs PAX East

I am definably going to Concord's Anime Convention, Connecticon whether or not I get to host a panel on my web comic. I might even try to get a table in the Online Media area if it is possible.

I am still trying to decide whether or not to go to Boston's video game convention, PAX East or Boston's Anime convention, Anime Boston. One of the reasons for my debate is because of how low my personal funds are right now. I still love going to these types of conventions though.

I will not go to Anime Boston unless I get a panel, an artist alley table, or both. I just don't see as much that I like at that convention anymore. Besides that, I want to be contributing to the conventions rather than just spending my money. I am getting to that age when I should be doing that. Besides, I am an artist in need of work and publicity.

I am not sure whether or not to go to PAX East. If I do, it probably won't be for the entire three day weekend. PAX East has a price of $70 compared to most conventions having a price of $40 to start with. I might go for two days. I can't seem to find any registrations for panels or art displays of any sort on their website.

Zheph Skyre Page 49 in Black and White

Here is page 49 of Zheph Skyre. Sir Luther makes an appearance again, and he appears to be as incapable as ever. Perhaps he will become more of a threat or asset as time moves on...

Sorry I haven't finished this page, but I have been trying to add more to the whole website in general. I am hoping that people will like this more and that Adsence will allow me to have adds.

I have added a list of other web comics that I like to the side of the web page. I have emailed the creators to see if they would mention my web comic somewhere on their websites.

I will have an update section at the bottom that will mention any conventions or other art related business I have coming up.

I also have a comment section at the bottom. I figured it might make it easier for viewers to leave comments on the page instead of coming to this blog.

New Year 2013!

Happy New Years Everyone! I hope everyone has a good 2013!

I have posted this image on my web comic site Zheph Skyre and my portfolio site. I have edited this acrylic painting of my dog Jack Frost on my computer and I like how it looks now.

I have recently acquired a new domain space for my web comic. It will no longer be updated at www.jdaltobelli.com/webcomic. From now on, it will simply be at www.zhephskyre.com. I believe this change will help bring more viewers to my websites and open more possibilities for me. I wanted to keep my portfolio professional while I keep my web comic as entertainment.