Saturday, January 30, 2010

Creative process

Recently I dropped a couple of bucks to pick up a pack of translucent plastic sheets and I've been a busy little bee ever since: yes, I have officially discovered the thoroughly enjoyable art of stenciling! My fingertips are developing all-new calluses from cutting out the stencils with a knife, I've added some new paint stains to no less than three shirts, and I'm starting to run low on paint — life doesn't get much better than this. There may even be a tutorial on the way...

Look forward to seeing some spiffy new stenciled designs that will soon be gracing the journals/sketchbooks in my Etsy store.

In the meantime, you should check out the Stencil Revolution boards for some of the most astonishing stencil talent I've ever seen on the web — and for pure inspiration, go drool over the legendary Banksy.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Friday Dogs: Nose



I've really been having trouble keeping up with posts lately - sorry. There's no internet at home and that makes things tough sometimes. I present today, for your consideration, a nose. While some say that the cognitive functioning of a canine is located in the brain, in truth it is located precisely here.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Put the fun between your legs.


A little design I did for the hell of it. I tried to think of a more original phrase to put at the bottom, but in the end, it was 3-something in the morning and I just wanted to go to bed.

Please do not claim, alter, distribute, etc. Click for full size.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Friday dogs: Scoops


Scoops (also called Snookums, Scooper Dooper, and Poop Scoop) is a bichon frise, owned and very much doted on by my former coworker Karen Hollish. She named him Scoops as a cutesy homage to her career in journalism — as in, "What's the scoop?"

Thursday, January 14, 2010

'Avatar' pwns

I had some fun with photo manipulation after seeing this video. This is me, as a resident of Pandora, a Na'vi:


It was surprisingly easy to do, and only took about an hour and a half, most of which I spent fiddling around with layer settings and opacity. Of course, I also didn't go into as much detail as the guy did in the video, such as re-texturing the skin and whatnot. And my face is extraordinarily un-Na'vi-like. Still, I think it's a pretty good effect overall.

As for the film behind the species: I thoroughly enjoyed Avatar and have to recommend it, and not just because it's visually amazing. Yes, it's very predictable (especially if you've read Frank Herbert's Dune — the storyline is practically identical), but just because you see the events coming from a mile away doesn't mean that you don't care about the characters they happen to. I cried more than once while I was watching it.

Miraculous

Click for full size.

I did most of this picture back in 2007, when I had a psychiatrist who was absolutely pill-happy. Every time I tried to come back to this piece to finish it, my .005 Micron would run out of ink, or I'd be unable to find that fine-tip paintbrush, or a friend would have to talk to me ohmygodrightnow, and then I'd just forget.

And now I've finally managed to finish the damn thing. And I am pleased. It was fun.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Kiwi freebies

I have an ambition to make a latch-hook rug that looks like a slice of kiwi fruit. When I sat down to try to simplify the quintessential kiwi so I could work out a pattern, I got a little carried away and made it shiny.

Please enjoy the resulting desktop images. Click for full size.


Also, if you can find a use for the base kiwi image (PNG format), be my guest. I only ask that you give credit and refrain from selling the image (as stock or otherwise).


Sunday, January 10, 2010

Four Strong Legs


Also posted this to my DeviantArt account.
Reference photo from The Daily Coyote.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Friday Dogs: Ghost Rufus

This is one of those all-too-common photography accidents, except it ended up being something I actually like. Photographing dogs is usually pretty easy compared to other animals, unless said dog is trying to get you to throw the ball. Then it's just a free-for-all.

Friday dogs: Katie

Katie Biscuit, purebred golden retriever, born when I was in kindergarten, died while I was in college at the ripe age of 14. I literally grew up with her. She died old, overweight, mostly deaf, partially blind, and highly flatulent. Hobbies included lavishing affection on every human being within range, demolishing plastic children's toys, and chasing chipmunks (she actually caught one once, but didn't know what to do with it, and dropped it back to the ground, unharmed).

You have never met a dog so gentle.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Boa tree


2009 was my first Christmas in my own home, as opposed to my parents' or Evan's parents' house. It was, therefore, my first Christmas without a tree. I'm not religious — I'm not even Christian — but having the holidays without a tree was not an idea I was too keen on. So I rigged up this little beauty using four zip ties, three coathangers, two feathered boas, and a partridge in a pear tree.


Tacky, but effective, and made with love.

Custom MLP: Kitsune

Kitsune is the fox formerly known as pony. It (I haven't decided if Kitsune should be male or female) was made from a pink fakie I found at Walgreen's and it's the size of a baby MLP. It features a re-angled neck, done with Sculpey — it was quite a revelation when I learned that you can bake a pony with no ill effects, though I wouldn't try it if the pony still has its hair (that stuff melts easily).

It also has a long, fluffy tail made from fake fur which was dyed by hand using a glorious technique elucidated by Beetlecat, here. The tail is attached with wire and is poseable.


The hair plugs along the back of the neck were plugged up with Sculpey as well, to give it a smoother look since I wasn't going to re-hair it. Then the pony was painted by hand with acrylics and given a matte sealant to prevent chipping/flaking. The fur was attached last.



Kitsune also features pink pawpads and white claws on all four feet:


It also has tiny black whisker-spots on its muzzle, like a canine, which you can see a little bit in this snap:


Kitsune has identical brand marks on both sides of its rump, like the old-school ponies had. The symbol is the kanji for fox. (I know, really original, amirite?)


The original plan:


And a progress picture I took right after baking. You can see the wire for the tail, which I had to insert before baking or painting since I wouldn't be able to get the pony's head off once that was done.


I haven't decided yet whether I'm willing to sell Kit. Leave a comment here or email me (summerdog.studio AT gmail) if you think you might be interested, and we'll talk.

 
based on a design by yummylolly.com