raeve@livejournal.com

Hello?

2021-12-14T01:28:23Z

It's been so long since I've logged in here. I'm not sure if I turned off LJ email notifications or if the people I follow simply left. Does anyone still use this site?

I'm thinking about posting here again, even if it's just me blogging into the void. I miss this place. Not really sure why since I was never super active in LJ communities, but posting and interacting with my small group of mutuals just felt ... cozy ... like home. I deeply miss that internet of old. I don't like the popular social media sites. I find them exhausting. Interactions there feel mostly hollow and everything seems to be about appeasing the algorithm gods and I don't have the energy to deal with that.

Anyway, if anyone is still here, feel free to comment, even if it's just a quick "hi". I'm not as productive with my art as I used to be, but I do have a few things I did not get around to sharing on LJ since my last Art Spam back in 2018.

2018 APRIL - DECEMBER ART SPAM!

2019-01-05T18:00:33Z

2018 APRIL - DECEMBER ART SPAM!

"Of Mental Health Struggles and a NEW new Muse(s)!"

So, 2018 was not a good year for me mental health-wise.

I've been struggling with depression my whole life, so low-grade depression is pretty much my default setting, but last May I had a meltdown that came outta nowhere. Nothing bad had happened beforehand, no one got sick or died, work was okay, life was simple and going pretty well, but then one day I realized that I'd just been existing with no passion or sense of purpose for months...? (kinda hard to tell when it actually started since these things tend to build up slowly and sneakily). I'd completely lost interest in the things and hobbies that made me happy. Nothing mattered. Everything felt pointless.

I stopped drawing, and not the I-need-a-break-to-recharge kind of thing that I do on a regular basis, I stopped thinking about drawing and I stopped daydreaming about future art projects. I just didn't care anymore...about anything.

And then things got worse when I began experiencing extreme mood swings at very inconvenient times and places, for example: I cried at work in my cubicle for no reason (on three separate occasions in the same morning), I almost punched a stranger for crowding me, and I basically overreacted to every minor inconvenience as if it were a life shattering apocalypse. At that point, I knew I couldn't ignore it anymore. This was a very different experience from any previous downturns with my depression. I've been severely depressed in the past, but it was always for tangible reasons, reasons that I worked really hard to sort out and that eventually lead to major life improvements. I thought I'd be free after fixing my life and that depression wouldn't be as much of an issue going forward, but I was wrong, apparently. I just didn't know how to deal with an episode that had no actual cause (that I could think of).

So, I went to my doctor and I decided it was time to try medication, since doing all the usual non-medication methods of coping weren't cutting it anymore. The extreme mood swings stopped within the first month, but I still didn't care about anything. I still felt empty. I was seriously contemplating the idea of quitting drawing forever. The whole point of hobbies is to make you feel happy, so why would I want to spend hours of time and energy on something that didn't make me happy anymore?

It took five months of medication before even the slightest interest in art came back. And then in October, a little film about a depressed man partnering up with an intelligent semi-liquid space slug is what finally motivated me to attempt drawing again. # Hello, Muse. You've chosen a very weird outfit to come back in, and I appreciate that. :P

It's been seven months now, and I'm really only starting to recover from this episode. My returned interest in drawing (and creating in general) gives me hope tho, gives me a sense of purpose again. So, that's something at least. :)

TL;DR - I had a meltdown last May and I'm on anti-depressants now, which haven't cured my depression, BUT they at least lifted my mood enough to make me want to create stuff again. And Eddie Brock and Venom are what finally motivated me to get back into drawing after seven long months of drifting in a void.

Aight, time to make with my first batch of post-meltdown drawings!

So, after seeing Venom (2018) and being absolutely surprised and delighted by this gem of a superhero film, I finally opened up Photoshop, dusted off my tablet, got a little collection of stills from the movie as my references and sketched an Eddie. I had no particular goal in mind with this sketch other than I wanted to figure out how to stylize Tom Hardy's face. *shrugs*

W.I.P. Eddie:

Tumblr post is here.

I let this sketch simmer for a couple of weeks because I had no idea what else to do with it. Eventually I was inspired by various fanarts of the venom symbiote as this cute little sweater gremlin and it was right around Halloween (or shortly after), and that's when I finally knew how I wanted to finish this drawing:

Venom nom nom ALL THE CHOCOLATE!:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Drawing the goopy Venom tendrils is very therapeutic. <3

Next, I felt inspired by that lobster tank scene™, and since I'd never tried a screencap redraw before, it was time I had a go at it:

Lobster Bathbombs!!!:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

This gif:

source

is where the screencap is from, specifically. His look of contentment/relief and the way his hands lovingly pet the sides of the tank and trail into the water just cracks me up every time! XD My speech bubbles aren't exact dialogue from the film. The waiter/restaurant manager/whatever speech bubble is actually a Nick Fury reference because I am a NERD!

And lastly, I wanted to draw a little slice of life kinda thing...

Grocery Shopping Can Be...An Ordeal:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Venom is basically me every February 15th when all the leftover Valentine's chocolates are 50-80% off. X'DDD

Anyhoo, I will hopefully continue to recover and draw (I've been thinking about my million-art-projects-that-are-forever-simmering-on-the-back-burner a lot again lately, so that's a good sign, right?).

Happy 2019! See you next spam!

Rachel

2017 JUNE - 2018 MARCH ART SPAM!

2018-03-18T00:32:37Z

2017 JUNE - 2018 MARCH ART SPAM!

"Of Sad!Cyborgs Origins, Supersoldiers, and a New Muse!"

Hoo boy! Brace yourselves for A LOT of scrolling. I waited way too long to do this spam - 10 months! I was supposed to be getting better about this, not worse. *sighs* As usual, I haven't been super productive but I'm happy about the stuff I made, so here goes...

First up: A few more progress shots for my Winter Cyborgs origin story comic (since a couple of people expressed interest in the process).

Progression of page 3, panel 1:

Tumblr post is here.

Various inks from page 2 and page 3:

Tumblr post is here.

Inking progress of page 4, panel 1:

Tumblr post is here.

Second up: I needed a little break from working on the comic, so I drew some Beardy!Steeeb portraits to soothe my soul. I went to D23 and SDCC last July and pretty much lost my damn mind over canon beardy!Cap. I tried to get into the D23 panel and failed. I did not get into Hall H at SDCC either and honestly didn't even try. It's really not worth it when someone is gonna just record it on their phone and leak it on the internet 10 minutes later anyway. I got way more info off the internet than being at the damn convention. >:C

Beardy!Steeeb # 1:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Beardy!Steeeb # 2:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

“Quit stealing my look, Steve!!!” - Bucky, just out of frame probably. :P

These say 'WIP' on them, but I'm never gonna work these further. I'm happy to just leave them as sketches/studies.

Also, this past summer, I finally bought a second monitor and WOW BEST DECISION EVER! So handy for all those reference photos. *sparkly eyes*

W.I.P. video of Beardy!Steeeb # 3:

https://instagram.com/p/BXJoM0Pn1sA

Tumblr post is here.

Kinda hard to see the cursor moving around over on the far right. I had to sit about 2 feet further back than usual to get both monitors in the frame. It made for a very awkward drawing position, lol.

And here's the finished drawing...

Beardy!Steeeb # 3:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Oh, man! Steve is gonna punch ALL THE THINGS in Infinity War and I CAN'T WAIT!!! I also started a 4th Beardy!Steeeb which I completely forgot about until just now, oops. Maybe I'll get back to it after Infinity War comes out.

Progress anim of Beardy!Steeeb # 4:

Tumblr post is here.

Once I was done flailing about Steve's new look, I eventually got back down to business on the Cyborgs comic...

Third up: At long last, 4 full pages of heartbreak, the finished first chapter of START_SEQUENCE!!!

START_SEQUENCE (Chapter 1/?) - a Winter Cyborgs AU comic
HYDRA attacks Avengers Tower and collects items from the R & D levels, as well as a couple of bonus prizes.

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Once again, I told myself I would only do a couple of animated panels, and then I ended up animating nearly all of them *facepalm*. And I foresee doing the same in upcoming chapters. # I Will Never Learn

Chapter 2 is written but I'm still sorting out the paneling. Here's hoping I feel motivated to start drawing in this 'verse again soon.

I currently have several other comics in development which are unrelated to the Winter Cyborgs AU including:

- Untitled Steeeb comic where nothing much happens. It’s just Steve travelling and living in his van from the 1979 Cap movies bc I LOVE THOSE CHEESY MOVIES and I just want to make something inspired by them and this also gives me a reason to draw more artist!Steve. <3 I’m pretty much done writing the first chapter and I’ve started collecting my ref images *is excite*

- Untitled Bucky comic about his time in Bucharest. There are so many little things I’d like to explore about his daily life while living in that apartment. No actual comic chapters written yet, just a list of possible topics.

- How They Make You A Weapon stuff. No solid plans at the moment, but I have been thinking quite a bit about making another cover/poster type artwork. I love monicawoe's ‘verse and always find myself wanting to come back to it. Maybe I’ll even draw part 2 to the Juneau comic someday.

- SUPER SECRET Winter Soldier crossover AU comic of MYSTERY! I’ve done exactly zero work on this one as of yet, but it’s been swirling around in my head A LOT.

Who knows how many of these will actually get completed, but it's nice to dream. *wistful sigh* The original Tumblr post for this W.I.P. meme is here.

Alrighty, so...

Fourth up: To kick off 2018, the muse wanted 80s Winter Soldier, and that is a request I simply cannot deny. <3

80s BEEF W.I.P. # 1:

Tumblr post is here.

80s BEEF W.I.P. # 2:

Tumblr post is here.

And the finished version...

MAGNUM BULLETS:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

This drawing was inspired by this song and this photo. :D I am a coward and couldn't bring myself to give Bucky a true mullet, so I gave him slicked back hair for that sweet mullet silhouette. XD I'm super pleased with how the tentacle graffiti turned out. I will use any excuse to incorporate HYDRA tentacles into my drawings re:Bucky.

Fifth up: *A NEW MUSE APPEARS*

Oh noes! No no NOOOO! I absolutely did NOT need another muse. *slides to the floor and curls into fetal position*

I finally decided to binge NBC's Hannibal last month and...that was a MISTAKE. I am now hopelessly obsessed with Will Graham. *cries* And like with most of my obsessions, I HAD to draw something...

Antlers:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

This is the first non-Marvel fan art I've made in FIVE YEARS! It was supposed to be a black and white piece, but I went with blue...surprise surprise. I couldn't help myself.

And lastly...

Sixth up: Will Graham again because I'm already bingeing the show for a second time. It's so damn good! <3

Lambchop:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

This show gives me ALL the Silent Hill videogame vibes - the unreliable narrator, the fucked up imagery, the body horror, the creepy soundscapes, so this colour scheme was inspired by SH2(?)...I think SH2 was the one with the greens and reds.

Anyhoo, that's it for this one. Congrats for making it all the way to the end. Thanks for reading and see you next spam! :D

Rachel

FU photobucket - update

2017-07-26T23:12:46Z

Huh. All my embedded images seem to be working again. Not entirely sure if Photobucket changed their minds or if it's simply a glitch that my stuff is visible again. :/ Google search told me nothing on this issue. Guess I'll hold off on the massive image migration for the time being. *shrugs*

FU photobucket

2017-07-12T23:54:43Z

Well, looks like all the images in my posts will be unavailable for awhile until I can migrate them to a different image hosting site. Photobucket has decided to no longer allow free third-party hosting...

"PhotoBucket now charges $399 for third-party hosted images"

I would be totally fine with paying something, I dunno, like $30 per year, but $400?!! What.The.Fuck?

You got greedy Photobucket.

2017 february-may art spam!

2017-06-01T02:41:51Z

2017 FEBRUARY-MAY ART SPAM!

"Of Anthologies and AUs!"

Oh yay! I only waited 4 months to do a new art spam! *pats self on back* Good job, me! The last few spams were 6 or more months apart and just...*sigh* it makes me sad that I can't produce art faster, but it is what it is...better than nothing, I guess.

But anyhoo, as promised in the last spam, and since the digital copy went live over a month ago, here are my finished illustrations for the Not Without You Anthology.

Finished illo 1:

'Afternoon TV Marathon'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Steve visiting a recovering Bucky in Wakanda. Afternoon Food Network marathons = perfect time for sketching or napping. It was nice to draw something warm and soft for a change. I'd also been meaning to draw Artist!Steeeb for FOREVER and now that I finally have, my soul can chill for a bit (but oh ho ho do i have plans for more Artist!Steeeb art in the not-too-distant future tho *tents fingers*).

Finished illo 2:

'The Captain and the Wind-Up Man'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Steampunk Bucky and Steve and the Mutton Chops of Freedom!!! This was illustrated to accompany monicawoe’s EPIC poem ‘The Captain and the Wind-Up Man’ which you can read here. I...might need to draw more Steampunk Steeeb and Buck at some point down the road too bc fun and yay sepia!!! <3

Also, as promised in the previous spam, I am once again neck deep in sad cyborg town. Feels good to be back in this soul-crushing little AU of mine. # happy sigh Been meaning to make a bunch of Winter Cyborgs origin/early testing phase comics since completing the MEMORY_GLITCH comic 2 years ago. It'll still be awhile before this latest comic is finished, so until then, here's a compilation of all the w.i.p.s I posted at the Tumblrs:

Rough cut of page 1 for START_SEQUENCE Chapter 1/?:

Tumblr post is here.

Rough sketch of page 2 panel 1 + panel plans for the rest of page 2:

Tumblr post is here.

Rough sketch of page 3 panel 1 (bc the previous pages weren't angsty enough! :P):

Tumblr post is here.

Clean-up/colouring process of page 1 panel 1:

Tumblr post is here.

Inking progress of page 1 panel 2:

Tumblr post is here.

And finally, a little sneaky peek of what the finished comic will look like:

Tumblr post is here.

Anyhoo, now that I've left you with a bunch of sads, it's time to run away...mwa ha ha!

See you next spam! :D

Rachel

2016 october-2017 january art spam!

2017-01-29T03:16:39Z

2016 OCTOBER - 2017 JANUARY ART SPAM!

"Of 1990s Beef and participating in a fan project!"

It took forever, but I finally finished...*drum roll*...part 1 of the Juneau side-mission comic for HTMYAW! *cue angelic choir*

Originally, I just wanted to draw one tiny scene from monicawoe’s Juneau fic, but quickly realized the scene needed a setup, so I kinda had to draw the first half of the story for it not to be this random drawing of WS!Bucky judging a Mortal Kombat arcade game. *sighs* The lengths I go to to satisfy an artsy whim. *collapses*

One of my favourite things about moni's writing is how she layers her story elements. I really pushed myself to do the same with this comic. I'm proud of myself for getting half the entire fanfic in only three standard comic pages all while using minimal internal monologue AND without making the panels overly busy.

Anyhoo, here's the comic. Enjoy.

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here. <--- either link is recommended for easy to scroll full-size art.

I briefly thought about drawing the entire fic (and I still might draw the second half someday) but since I worked on this off and on for so long, I just really wanted to post it on the interwebs and be done with it.

I also made things more difficult by deciding partway thru that this comic needed animations. *faceplam* Why do I hate myself so much? I do actually like how it turned out tho, so suffering = worth it…?

Also also, I got somewhat comfortable with the basics of Sketchup thanks to this comic. I built a model of the entire arcade and immediate surrounding area before even starting on the drawings. The drawings still took a FUCKTON of work, but having a template with proper perspective that I didn’t have to calculate myself was a sanity-saver. Seeing how things will look from multiple camera angles before even starting a drawing is just so so soooo nice. <3

Fun fact: that cola vending machine in the last panel has appeared in another artwork of mine from nearly five years ago. I had fun drawing the graphics on it the first time around, so I figured why not use it again. Who knows, maybe I’ll turn the generic cola machine into a thing. Keep an eye out for it in the future, kids, ha ha.

Besides finishing the Juneau comic, I've been a busy bee making two illustrations for the Not Without You Anthology. The Kickstarter is nearly done and is at 750% of it's goal. \o/

I am DYING to post my finished pieces, but I have to wait until the Kickstarter is done, or possibly until after the book is shipped out (can't remember what the agreement was and I'm too lazy to sift thru my emails right now).

I can however share my w.i.p.s, so here are some progress shots for illo 1:

Rough sketch:

Tumblr post is here. This shitty scribble has a ridiculous amount of notes at Tumblr. I really hope the finished version gets this many, but Tumblr is fucking infuriating that way and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it only got half the notes or less. >:C

Finished inks:

Tumblr post is here.

And for illo 2, I couldn't resist teaming up with monicawoe again, so here's the rough sketch of my drawing to accompany her steampunk AU fic:

Tumblr post is here.

Aaaaand a sneaky peek of the finished inks + flat colours on Steampunk!Steeeb:

Tumblr post is here. I am so freakin happy with Bucky's steampunk arm! I can't wait for you guys to see it!!!

That's it for this spam. Thanks for reading! <3 The next spam will have the finished anthology drawings (and hopefully some cyborg-related goodness too *eyebrow waggles*). See you then! :D

Rachel

2016 march-september art spam!

2016-09-25T18:48:10Z

2016 MARCH - SEPTEMBER ART SPAM!

"Of beef and...MOAR BEEF! (with a side of rotisserie chicken)"

*a wild raeve appears*

Sometimes I think about closing this blog, but I dunno, I still kinda like having one blog where all my art is archived, even the old crappy stuff so... *shrugs* It's nice to look back once in awhile to remind myself that all the struggles and hard work actually paid off and that I have improved and continue to improve. So, until I feel otherwise, I guess I'll keep it.

I don't have too much to say about this particular spam except that my love for all things Cap and Bucky rages on with the force of a thousand suns. I never thought I'd still be drawing them almost exclusively after more than two years...but here we are.

First up - two W.I.P.s of a cute beef:

Sketch:

Tumblr post is here.

Clean inks + flats:

Tumblr post is here.

The finished cute beef:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Bless you, Civil War wardrobe department for Bucky's red henley and fitted jeans of awesomeness! <3

Next up - two W.I.P.s of a cute rotisserie chicken:

Sketch:

Tumblr post is here.

Clean inks + beginning of flats:

Tumblr post is here.

I was inspired by the Civil War concept art and really wanted to try Cap's suit in black. *u*

The finished cute rotisserie chicken:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Man, I got lost for hours looking at ref photos of Cap's uniform. Sooooo many beautiful details! <3___<3 For a brief moment I thought about simplifying it, but I'm glad I didn't. I'm quite happy with how it tuned out, and especially proud that the black on black didn't end up as just a giant dark blob. Yay!!!

Next on the menu - W.I.P. of a sad beef:

Tumblr post is here.

Forever grateful the opening scene of Civil War was a painful Winter Soldier flashback! # i live for that shit So, of course I had to draw a lil' somethin'.

The finished sad beef:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Super happy with the colour combo in this one! \o/ Also, I love drawing Bucky v. HYDRA tentacles and plan to do more in the future MWA HA HAH HA haaaa...

Next menu item - W.I.P. of sad robo!rotisserie chicken:

Tumblr post is here.

Yep! Still poking around my # trash pile of sads and HYDRA medical experiments AU! And I still have every intention of making more comics for this 'verse, just sorting out designs and planning panels, etc in between working on a million other things I wanna draw. # too many ideas not enough time ;A;

And on the dessert menu we have - MOAR BEEF! but drawn on real paper with real crayons:

Sketchbook entry 1:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Sketchbook entry 2:

Tumblr post is here.

Okay, so I hadn't drawn anything but digital for the past two years and I was legit worried I wouldn't be able to draw on real paper anymore because digital just makes using refs and fixing mistakes and adjusting proportions so convenient, but like, all that practice (even tho it was digital) totally improved my overall observational and drawing abilities and my trad media skills leveled way the hell up as a result! *u*

And lastly - I once again pulled my HTMYAW comic (as seen in the previous spam) off the back burner. Made some slight changes to page 1, and am now halfway thru page 2.

Here's a preview of one panel from pg2 cuz...proud of birbs:

Tumblr post is here.

I had no intention of using animated elements for this comic, but then I got the idea to animate the lights from inside the arcade, which only creates more work for myself *sigh* but I did some animation tests and...it actually looks...cool. And it adds to the atmosphere so, imma do it! :D

Anyhoo, that's it for this round. Thanks for reading. See you next spam!

Rachel

2015 august - 2016 february art spam!

2016-02-27T04:24:50Z

2015 AUGUST - 2016 FEBRUARY ART SPAM!

"Of Progress Shots and A Few Finished Pieces"

Hmmmm, since I'm super slow these days when it comes to finished arts, I thought I might as well spam the W.I.P.s too. It gives the illusion that I'm productive. *smiles and nods*

Hey, remember last summer/fall when I was working on that street scene featuring my dumpster son Matt Murdock and a bunch of extras?

[awkward silence]

Me neither.

But here are the receipts that prove I was actually working on something...until I got distracted:

Tumblr post is here.

Detail -

Tumblr post is here.

And now with a partially clean-inked Matt!

Tumblr post is here.

Aaaaand that's where I stopped, even though the finish line was in sight and all the difficult parts were already complete. I dunno, I guess I just worked on it too long and lost interest. *sigh* I swear I'll finish it someday. Here's hoping the upcoming season 2 of Daredevil will inspire me.

Okay, so the thing that distracted me was (surprise! surprise!) Sgt. James Buchanan Barnes. Will I ever escape him? Do I even want to? *whimpers softly*

I'd been itching to get back to monicawoe's HTMYAW-verse for a long while, which eventually lead to the idea of making some comic covers/posters for our little side-blog because what better way to procrastinate from actually working on the HTMYAW side-mission comic I'd started drawing 7 months earlier, lol. **see further down post for that

Here's a progress shot of cover 1:

Tumblr post is here.

It always delights me how very thirsty people are for Bucky. IMO, I got way too many notes for a silly W.I.P. post.

And here is the finished cover 1:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

I decided to marry my stylized HTMYAW side-mission art with my colour scheme from the main HTMYAW comics (which have more realistic shading and no clean inks). I'm quite happy with how this marriage turned out. *throws confetti*

Soon after finishing cover 1, I got an idea for cover 2. Since I spend an unhealthy amount of hours thinking about poor frozen Bucky, it was about damn time that I drew him. Here's the W.I.P.:

Tumblr post is here.

*is proud of her ever-expanding collection of grumpy Bucky faces* <3<3<3

Here's the finished cover 2:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

So, after I got those covers out of my system, it was time to dust off my photoshop file and resume work on Juneau 1994:

Here's the first W.I.P. from way back in April of 2015:

Tumblr post is here.

The finished colours:

Tumblr post is here.

And now fast forward through 10 months of neglect (mostly due to adjusting to my new day job)...et voila! Last month, I finally jumped back in for panel 2:

Tumblr post is here.

A quick breakdown of the layers involved in the colouring process:

Tumblr post is here.

And lastly for this particular project, a little teaser of the rest of page 1 which is 100% complete!

Tumblr post is here.

Page 2 is already in the works! \o/

Buuuuut then the muse moved my winter cyborgs AU from the back burner up to the front burner and I couldn't stop thinking about endoskeletons and cyborg finger beans...so this happened:

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

[robo music playing in the distance]

The plan is to return to this AU full force once I'm done the HTMYAW Juneau 1994 comic. I think about this AU daily and I NEED to make more comics for it! *foams at mouth*

So, in conclusion:

I'm still making stuff on a pretty regular basis, but it's VERY slow progress thanks to 45 897 631 overly complicated ideas screaming for attention but only having 1 time to work my day job AND make these ideas happen. Sacrifices must be made. *sad sigh* If only you could see how full my ideas graveyard is... *cries*

Anyhoo, thanks for reading. See you next spam!

Rachel

new year - new look

2016-01-03T19:04:07Z

Happy 2016!!! Oh LJ! I always forget about you, you poor little blog.

I gave my page a makeover to match my current Tumblr blog in hopes that it might encourage me to update more often. Buuuuut I'm still not arting as much as I'd like to and I tend to tackle large projects that take FOREVER to complete, so I dunno how well this plan is gonna work. *shrugs*

Speaking of large projects, I finally got back to work on more How They Make You A Weapon art/comics. I can't believe monicawoe and I's little team-up/side blog has reached over 600 followers!

I also have a new Winter Cyborgs AU comic partially written which is gonna be a MONSTER to draw, but I am dumb and stubborn and will fight the monster anyway, no matter how unprepared I am.

Here's hoping 2016 will be the year I master time-management (and energy-management). *crosses fingers*

Rachel

2014 december - 2015 july art spam!

2015-08-02T19:28:57Z

2014 DECEMBER - 2015 JULY ART SPAM!

“Of Tragic Robo!Hipsters and Blind Catholic Ninjas"

SURPRISE! I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me, ha ha! I swear I didn't forget about LJ, I've just been busy and too ~~lazy~~ tired during my free time to type up an art spam post...for the past 8 months straight. *facepalm*

But anyhoo, grab a drink and a snack, it's time to recap.

Rewind to early last December (2014)...

My muse wanted sci-fi (for wharever reason *shrugs*) but still wasn't finished with the tragedy that is Steve Rogers and James Buchanan Barnes, so what better way to satisfy these cravings than to create a horrible AU where both Steve and Bucky are captured and turned into Winter Cyborgs / Hydra Terminators / Robo Hipsters.

'SEARCH_DESTROY'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

The entire concept is a blend of Winter Soldier, Robocop, Terminator, and even a little bit of Universal Soldier thrown in for the lulz. Their exo-skeletons / armor (except for the arms, of course) are loosely based on Robocop’s armor.

Their endo-skeletons are Terminator-influenced, although, they still have their hearts and lungs and blood vessels to keep their heads alive, which again is influenced by this scene in Robocop. *WARNING for body horror*

Here's another drawing which shows a little of that endo-skeleton.

'REPAIR_MODE'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

[RoboHipster haircuts INTENSIFY]

At this point (late December / early Jan 2015), the ever lovely monicawoe decided to join me in my trash pile of robots & despair and she wrote this brilliant little story ---> 'System Override' (I'm still flailing about it 8 months later :D).

It would seem that art inspired by art in turn inspires MOAR art because her story then inspired me to write a ficlet to accompany a soundtrack I was putting together for my bleak robo AU.

'OPERATION_ECLIPSE' - (a.k.a. Winter Cyborgs MIX Vol.1)

[Download the mix]
Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Moni's use of server logs to tell a story in 'System Override' was just too cool not to try it out myself. The amount of FEELS this writing format generated was very surprising to me. I was soooooo not expecting the reaction that it got. <3

Okay, backtracking just a tiny bit here, while I was still working on 'REPAIR_MODE', my hand slipped and I started another Winter Cyborgs drawing...

Tumblr post is here.

This was going to be a stand-alone drawing. My plan was to make this the album cover for Winter Cyborgs Mix Vol.1 (which was only a song list at the time), BUT THEN 'Systme Override' happened which then influenced me to turn my soundtrack into 'Operation Eclipse' AND THEN my muse decided NO! I am no longer satisfied with stand-alone drawings, not after 'System Override' and 'Operation Eclipse'. I DEMAND COMICS! *facepalm* Muse, NO! Just no.

Fast forward to several days of arguing with myself later...and yeah, I started a damn comic which centered around the above unfinished drawing.

Fast forward again to two months + a fuckton of work later and here's the finished product, which is a prequel to the events of 'Operation Eclipse'.

'MEMORY_GLITCH'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here (recommended for fullsize panels + easy scrolling).

Both the Tumblr and DA posts contain backstory for this AU which I don't feel like copy/pasting here since this post is already too long and I'm not quite done spamming yet.

And now a short break for more personal stuff...

Shortly after this comic was originally posted (beginning of March 2015), the bank loan I'd been living off of for a year was almost depleted and my small art contracts just weren't paying the bills, so I had to finally abandon my life's goal of being a working artist. *sigh* I tried, guys. I tried for years. I really did. Now I guess I know it's just not meant to be. *cries forever* I'm glad I managed to make some of my best drawings before starting my new life as an office worker though, so there's that, I guess. I shall continue to draw, I can't help it. I hope that I can find a good balance between my day job and my hobby and that I can make art a little more frequently than I have been for the past 4 months.

I managed to draw one more Winter Cyborgs thing since starting my day job. Listening to all that robomusic while drawing 'MEMORY GLITCH' inspired me to do another soundtrack (no ficlet this time tho).

'Winter Cyborgs MIX Vol.2'

[Download the mix]
Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

*pokes you all with a stick* Are you still reading this? Yes? Good, cuz I have one more thing. :D

Back in April, a little Marvel tv show called Daredevil took over my life. I love this show like you don't understand. Nothing has punched me in the FEELS quite so hard since the Agent Carter series from this past January (and also Captain America: The Winter Soldier which came out last year *see above for the damage that did) and I just...I was not prepared for this to happen again, but here we are.

Anyway, here's Matt Murdock in the black suit because I fucking LOVE that black suit.

# matt ‘i tripped and fell while taking out the trash’ murdock

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

I thought about saving Matty for a future spam since I'm already drawing another Daredevil piece but who the hell knows how long it'll be before the next spam, so yeah. *shrugs*

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed this ride and thanks for reading. <3 Oh, and if anyone wanted to see the Winter Cyborgs saga evolve in chronological order, here's the tag for that at my Tumblr.

Rachel

2014 july-november art spam!

2014-11-30T05:01:21Z

JULY-NOVEMBER ART SPAM!

“Of Commissioned Art and ALL the Bucky...so much Bucky, OMG!!!"

Uhg, I am so behind on my LJ blogging. There is honestly no excuse for it since I am still unemployed. Like seriously, I have nothing better to do with my time and I don't understand where all this time disappears to. *sighs loudly and stares out the window forever*

So anyhoo, a few months back I opened up commissions to help pay small bills and to stop myself from feeling like a completely useless lump of a human being.

Commish #1:

'Asma Jensen'

OC commish for Kaedegirl.

Click image to view fullsize at my Photobucket.
Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

GAWD I love this character's hair! And I am a total sucker for the yellow eyes/black sclera combo.

Commish #2:

'Von'

OC commish for FallOutBlue.

Click image to view fullsize at my Photobucket.
Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Another lady character commish (I seriously need to draw more women on my own because women are awesome...but I keep getting distracted by the pretty men...*cries*). I found a Photoshop brush in my giant collection of PS-brushes-that-I-keep-forgetting-I-have that worked perfectly for this character's freckles! Huzzah!

Commish #3:

'Bucky and Sam'

Commish for usakeh based on her fanfic.

Click image to view fullsize at my Photobucket.
Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

TEAM ADORABLE GOOBERS! \o/ I just couldn't help myself with the America-themed clothing! So much fun! *u*

Commish #4:

'Gnight and Gmorning'

Another commish for usakeh based on her fanfic.

Click image to view fullsize at my Photobucket.
Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

WHAT'S THIS?! RAEVE SLASHES FOR PROFIT?!! #SCANDALOUS

Once again, America-themed clothing because of reasons. <3

Commish #5:

'NYCC 2014 Cosplay Crew'

Commish for Captain Blitzy and her crew cosplaying as Cap, Black Widow, and the Winter Soldier.

Click image to view fullsize at my Photobucket.
Tumblr post is here.

This was a fun one! Drawing three characters I'm familiar with but NOT the actors who play them was tricky though.

*pokes readers with a stick* Are you still with me, readers? Yes? Good, cuz there's a bunch of non-commissionned stuff coming up. From this point onwards it's ALL BUCKY ALL THE TIME! ...well, except for the very last drawing. I had to switch it up a little. :)

So, as you may recall from my last spam, I started drawing Winter Soldier sketches inspired by monicawoe's fantabulous fanfic 'How They Make You A Weapon'. Well, I decided to draw more, but this time I made a comic using scenes directly from the story. I've said before that I needed to challenge myself and challenge myself I did...*whines* COMICS ARE HARD!

'How They Make You A Weapon - Shave & a Haircut'

Click image to read it at my Photobucket.
Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

This scene takes place in Chapter 3 of HTMYAW. I liked my colour scheme from my previous HTMYAW-inspired sketches, so I used it again for the comic...AND THEN the follow-up comic too. \o/

'How They Make You A Weapon - Loyalty'

Click image to read it at my Photobucket.
Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

This scene also takes place in Chapter 3 immediately where 'Shave & a Haircut' leaves off. I just had to draw that conversation with Zola.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MOAR!!!

After monicawoe finished the main HTMYAW story, she wrote a totally rad side mission titled 'Control' that takes place in 1989. And if there was ever a more potent catnip for me than the Winter Soldier it would be 1980s era Winter Soldier!!! *excited dolphin noises*

'1989'

Click image to view fullsize at my Photobucket.
Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

Since it's a much shorter comic, I went more stylized and full colour. And, well, that 80s backdrop pretty much demanded it.

AAAAaaaaaannnnd...naturally I had to draw more for this one too...

'1989 part 2'

Click image to view fullsize at my Photobucket.
Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

I am so insanely pleased with that gross fluorescent public washroom lighting, you have no idea. Also, 80s bomber jacket and torn sleeve t-shirt FTW! Also, also...ponytail!Bucky. *happy sigh*

Did anyone notice my little art joke in the last panel? Yes? No? My signature is graffiti on the bathroom wall and it's backwards because we're seeing it in the mirror.

AAAaaaaand FINALLY *drum roll* the last drawing, which *gasp* is not Bucky!

'Steve'

Click image to view fullsize at my Photobucket.
Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

*happy sigh* STEEEB!<3 Considering I am hopelessly in love with this character, I don't draw him nearly enough.

Sooooooooooooooo, that's what I've been to up for the past few months ~~besides laying on my couch and staring at the ceiling for hours on end wishing I had a proper job doing something I enjoy and wishing that my life had a purpose~~.

Rachel

TMI maybe?

2014-11-28T05:23:16Z

It just occured to me that one year ago today I had breast reduction surgery, possibly the best thing I've ever done for myself. So, happy 1st birthday, my little sweater pillows!

Rachel

achievement unlocked!

2014-09-14T02:21:42Z

I did it! I reached a big goal of mine today that I thought I would never reach. I ran for 60 minutes straight. \o/ And bonus: it burned over 1000 calories. I now know that I can cover a distance of 5.2 miles (or 8.4 km) in one hour. It ain't Steve Rogers-good, but it's hella good for me! :D

I foresee a lot of leg stretching tomorrow though, ha ha.

Rachel

fangirl tears

2014-07-17T23:18:54Z

Source

*FLIPS TABLE*

AAAARRRRGG!!! COME TO FAN EXPO TORONTO IN AUGUST!!!

FU Wizard World Comic Con Chicago. >:C

Rachel

mega level-up: the sequel

2014-06-30T18:03:24Z

GAIZ!

GAIIIIIZZZ!!!

I DID IT!

I RAN FOR 45 MINUTES STRAIGHT!!!

FORTY. FIVE. FREAKIN. MINUTES.

My legs hurt.

Rachel :D

2014 june art spam!

2014-06-29T17:03:24Z

JUNE ART SPAM!

“Of Speedy Paintings and Messy Illustrations"

HOLY JEEBUS HAVE I GOT SOME SPAM FOR YOUS THIS MONTH!

Sooooo, I need more work and job hunting is frustrating and several kinds of no-fun. I apply for new jobs almost daily, which in itself isn't the bad part, it's the waiting for replies that KILLS me.

So, to stop myself from going completely mental, I need to keep busy which leads to more drawing and painting than usual. It's kind of a win, but kind of not...ya feel me?

Anyway, on with the spamming!

What's this? Can it be? It's a rare Supernatural art! Of course I still love SPN characters to death, but the lure of Marvel is just too powerful these days. However, the SPN season 9 finale had to be commemorated in some way because DEMON!DEAN!!! \o/

'Holy Hell'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

I'd like to explore this design farther someday. I love the idea of furnace-lungs and furnace-heart and skin gradually taking on a texture like blackened wood. I didn't add a texture to this one, but next time, if I draw his feet, there is gonna be some burnt tree bark stuff going on. *nods*

Next, I got crazy with the speed paintings again. Come on! I had to do something with all those CA: TWS ref photos and gifs piling up on my computer (besides stare at them lovingly, I mean)

'WS (speedy #1)'

Tumblr post is here.

Definitely not my best or fave speed painting. I made him look like an angry muppet...I dunno what happened. I'm sorry, Bucky! You're still an adorable angry muppet, if that makes you feel any better.

'WS (speedy #2)'

Tumblr post is here.

This one is slightly better, but in all fairness, half of his face is covered so that made my job kinda easy. And I dunno, I guess I prefer the blue-ish colour scheme in this one.

'WS (speedy #3)'

Tumblr post is here.

Okay, NOW we're gettin' somewhere! This one is my fave Winter GrumpyCat of the bunch. He's so pretty in pink! *gently pets his messy hair*

Next up, we have Falcon because FALCON! <3<3<3

'Falcon (speedy #1)'

Tumblr post is here.

GOGGLES! Have I ever mentioned how much I love goggles?! Because I really really do. Trying to make sense of all his jetpack stuff from a tiny gif in a short amount of time was definitely a challenge. I'm not entirely satisfied, but I tried. *shrug*

'Falcon (speedy #2)'

Tumblr post is here.

Hmmm, this one's not my fave either. I like how the colours turned out, but the overall rendering is meh.

'Falcon (speedy #3)'

Tumblr post is here.

I'm happier with this one. The jetpack actually started to make a little more sense to me here.

'Cap (speedy #6)'

Tumblr post is here.

This one is my absolute fave of the whole batch! Not really surprising though, since Cap speed paintings and I go way back. Oh, how I've missed you, Captain Adorable!

Alright, so now it's time to get into something I haven't done for a long, looooong time...messy illustrations. Every once in awhile, when the stars align and the moon is in the correct phase, I manage to make an okay drawing without having to render the crap out of it. This makes me a happy artist indeed because it just feels nice to make something relatively quick and still have it look interesting.

The following three illustrations are inspired by a marvelous fanfic written by the equally marvelous monicawoe.

'Diagnostics'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

This one started as just a random sketch of Sebastian Stan's face, but then I thought I should do something with this besides add it to my collection of floating head doodles. #floating head doodles might as well be the title of my artist biography *facepalm*

So, I kept going with it and ended up with something that I'm very happy with. :) And when I'm happy with something I need to keep exploring, which lead to another sketch:

'Suit-up'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

This is the most depressing thing I've ever drawn + the most depressing title I could think of, but I am proud of that because I managed to illustrate exactly the feeling and atmosphere that I was going for. #YAY!

I also stuck with my colour scheme from before. I liked the idea of Bucky in warmer tones while surrounded by a cold, blue, desaturated world (emphasizing that isolation, ya know, cuz it wasn't already depressing enough XD).

And then I had to draw another because I imagine there is a lot of downtime in the Winter Soldier's world between all the training and the missions. It can't all be car chases and explosions. So, why not combine his brainwashing sessions with routine arm maintenance and software calibration/upgrades.

'HYDRA Infomercials'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

I am stupid proud of that TV flicker animation. It's the simplest thing I've ever animated and yet I would gladly show this off before showing something I spent hours animating. *sigh*

Okay, you kids still with me after all this spam and rambling? Yes? Great! There are two more little doodles I want to share.

I needed a quick break from all the Bucky feels, so I doodled a couple of random STEEEBS because STEEEB! <3<3<3

'Grump STEEEB'

Tumblr post is here.

Cheer up, Cap. *boops his nose*

And lastly:

'STEEEB DO NOT WANT'

Tumblr post is here.

I don't know why he looks mildly horrified. We'll just pretend it's something Tony Stark did or said. :D

Anyhoo, that's my spam for this month. I applaud you for making it all the way to the bottom of the can.

ONWARDS TO JULY!!!

*warrior screeches and runs into the distance*

Rachel :D

2014 april-may art spam!

2014-06-24T21:51:11Z

APRIL-MAY ART SPAM!

“Of Super Soldiers and Half-naked Gods of Mischief"

HAI! Long time no art spam! :D

So, as most of you know, I was too preoccupied with life stuff to make proper time for arts at the beginning of the year.

For awhile I was concerned I'd fallen out of love with art, BUT THEN, back in April, a little film called Captain America: The Winter Soldier hit me like a ton of bricks and pulled me out of my artslump right quick. XD

Apparently all I needed was an extremely high dose of character FEELS to get my brain working again. So many Cap feels and Widow feels and Fury feels and Falcon feels and PEGGY FEELS OMG PEGGY!!!

And then, there was the feels I was not prepared for...the BUCKY FEELS! I knew damn well the Winter Soldier was Bucky Barnes before seeing the film, but it did absolutely NOTHING to help me cope. ;A;

So anyhoo, I HAD TO DRAW SOME STUFF or risk exploding.

Most of you have seen these already (since I am super late in posting them here), but hopefully you'll enjoy them all again anyway. :D

First up is my fave undercover hipster duo:

'Capster & Bee Dubbs'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

I mean, how cute were these two trying to blend in at the mall? *pets them*

Next is that adorable little brainwashed assassin of my heart:

'WS'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here.

At first I hated all the detail on his body armor because ARG DETAILS, but then I fell in love with it because look at it! It's totally rad and badass! *swoon*

And last but not least, is a half-naked Loki based on Loki's most recent incarnation in his new solo comic series Loki: Agent of Asgard.

'Tuesday Nights'

Tumblr post is here. DA post is here. *Go to either the Tumblr or DA post for more explanation on this drawing.

This was drawn for my Marvel!Bro (a.k.a. Nimloth87)'s birthday. It is 100% her fault that I am OBSESSED with Marvel comics, so I torture her every year by drawing her a Loki for her b-day. *cackles*

Well, that's all for now. If you're up-to-date on my Tumblr blog, then you know my June spam is gonna be a BIGGUN. Soooooo much CA: TWS stuff...maybe too much CA: TWS stuff...NAH, no such thing as too much CA: TWS stuff. XD

See you at the end of the month, kids!

Rachel :D

mega level-up

2014-06-02T20:57:00Z

I haven't used my poor LJ for awhile, so I thought I would share my little fitness triumph.

As most of you know, I've made a lot of life changes since last October. One of those big changes is that I dropped 25 lbs before I moved to my new apartment back in March and although I don't currently own or have access to a scale, I know I lost more since the move (at least another 10 lbs, judging by which clothes I can finally fit back into). It's blowing my mind that my former skinny-jeans are now my very relaxed-fit jeans.

I never thought in a million years that the treadmill and I would be BFFs, but it is 100% working for me. For the first 2 months after the move, I walked at a moderate incline and at a brisk pace for 90 minutes 4-5 days a week. Once that got easier, I upped the incline and pace just a little more. Then a few weeks ago, I decided to give jogging another try (I've had a love/hate relationship with jogging my whole life).

I started with 5 mins at 5 miles an hour on a very slight incline. Back in the day, I would have to push myself just to make it through that. Much to my surprise, 5 mins didn't seem so awful this time. So, the next couple of times I tried 10 mins. Once again, not bad at all. At this point, I am curious to see just how much I can take before I get winded. Sooooo, the next attempt I run for 15 mins. It was crazy hot in my apartment that morning too, but I survived. *woot*

I was feeling pretty proud of my gradual leveling-up, and today being Monday, I decided to see if I could make that 20 minutes. Well, holy shit, I ran for 30 minutes this morning and I could have kept going! The only reason I stopped is because I had reached the end of my 90 minute workout and I had other things I wanted to do. @___@ Like, WTF? How did I go from 15 to 30? Was I bit by a radio-active spider over the weekend?! *checks body for fang marks*

My goal was to eventually run 45 mins (half my workout time) but I thought that would happen sometime in the distant future...if at all.

Hopefully today wasn't a fluke. I'll find out tomorrow, I guess. Man, I am still stunned about this. I think the last time I could run longer than 30 minutes in one shot I was 12 years old. :/

Rachel :D

greetings from the abyss

2014-03-30T17:18:51Z

*continued from my last post*

*a wild Raeve appears* Hello!

Well, I'm happy to say that things in the abyss are pretty good so far. The move went ridiculously smooth. All my belongings fit in the truck and only one tiny little thing was damaged, a knob on a storage drawer for my art supplies, so no big deal. \o/

After nearly a month of being here, I'm mostly unpacked. I'm not used to having so much space that is all mine and no one else's. Seriously, I can do cartwheels in my living room/dining room and not even come close to landing on any furniture. I'm still not 100% sure about my furniture arrangement, but at least the important things are set up (tv area and office area).

My fish seem content in their new home. Both Dr. Leonard McKoi and Leonardo DaFishy II handled the 4 hour drive in a cooler like champions. :)

I had some major anxiety the first 2 weeks after moving in (feeling like I made the wrong decision, etc, etc) but I am doing much better now. Work is keeping me busy. My finances, although not ideal, are not that bad either. Everything I need is technically within walking distance, which saves on public transit costs (not to mention, forces me to go outside and get fresh air and exercise = win/win).

So yeah, just wanted to let everyone know I'm still alive and now trying to get my art mojo back. I was a little worried that I'd permanently lost interest in art, but the other day I got that familiar itch in the back of my brain... I missed you, itch.

Rachel :D

jumping into the abyss

2014-02-13T05:27:02Z

HAI GUYZ! Long time no update. In the off chance anyone was wondering what happened to my monthly art spam, well I had to put it on hiatus. I've been a bit too busy trying to get my ass in gear which left me zero energy for personal art. ;A;

What am I gearing up for, you ask? I am moving to the GTA (as in the Greater Toronto Area not Grand Theft Auto). I've been wanting to move down that way for 5 million years and I kept putting it off and making excuses like I can't afford to move right now etc, etc, but a few weeks ago I finally just decided fuck it I'm moving anyway! That's what bank loans are for! #take THAT financial responsibility

At the beginning of January, I put myself on a waiting list for a nice, secure apartment building, fully expecting there wouldn't be any vacancies for a long while, only to receive a call a week later. \o/ I made a road trip the next weekend to see the apartment and fill out the application AND THEN a week after that I got the call saying I was approved. *u*

So yeah, between work and ~~panicking~~ packing, I pretty much just veg out in my down time. It may be another month or two before I get organized enough in my new life to make time for personal art.

In the meantime, work work WORK is priority #1. I will be free-falling through the land of uncertainty trying to pay for this very nice, slightly-out-of-my-price-range apartment on my freelancing gigs. #terrifying

I haven't felt this scared and excited since the last cliff I flung myself off of when I quit retail to become a full-time artist. *breathes into paper bag* Hmmmm...I detect a habit of making life-altering decisions in January followed by abyss-diving in February. Quick! Someone get an astrology chart! What does this mean?!

Anyhoo, here's hoping I don't go KERSPLAT! when I reach the bottom.

Rachel

spn spin-off

2014-01-30T03:43:23Z

"Supernatural' spinoff to be called 'Supernatural: Tribes" --> source <---

That title isn't exactly filling me with confidence.

2013 december art spam!

2014-01-02T20:28:13Z

DECEMBER ART SPAM!

“Of Renewed Hope and Contemplating my Life Choices"

Happy New Year, everybody! *glomp*

I didn't get any personal art done this month. Unfortunately, a bunch of non-art stuff got in the way of my motivation and productivity. Guuuuuh, I really need to work on balancing life and making art. I seriously should be a master of this by now. *sigh*

Since I don't have any drawings to post, let's take a gander at my goals list for 2013 and see how I did:

- Exercise regularly + lose weight. WIN However, exercise alone was not enough to lose the weight, soooo I eventually resorted to calorie tracking this past October (which I DESPISE) and well, calorie tracking works, plain and simple. Because of it, I figured out what my problem was, which was not over-eating (I knew it couldn't be that because I ate average portions and abstained from junk foods). It turns out, the healthy foods I loved to eat were much higher in calories than I ever imagined. By substituting whole eggs for egg whites and cutting my daily 1-2 glasses of chocolate milk to a half glass, it made a big difference over the course of two months. I managed to lose 20 pounds in seven weeks. \o/

- Get a decent paying art job. PARTIAL WIN I finally got a taste of regular pay as a freelancer this year and it was good...and I want MOOOOAR!!! The trick, of course, is to have these types of contracts lined up so I am never without a paycheck for too long.

- Draw action-y and foreshortened poses. FAIL I tried a few but didn't stick with it like I intended. Guess what's going on my 2014 list?! XD

- Create a fully rendered OC comic page. FAIL (once again). At this point, my OCs are seriously contemplating moving into someone else's headspace...someone much more productive.

- Fill a sketch book. FAIL <--- THIS right here is my biggest downfall. I need to just draw things, random things, ANY THING! This should be done daily, much in the same way as exercising and watching what I eat.

Anyhoo, all in all, 2013 wasn't a great year, but starting a new year always renews my hope. *clings to hope so tight it cuts off the circulation*

Here are my 2013 art spams, in case anyone missed anything.

Wishing you all the best in 2014!

Rachel :D

hiatus TV watchin' #2

2013-12-19T20:49:45Z

Well, American Horror Story: Murder House (a.k.a. season 1) was excellent. It had a satisfying story with a satisfying ending. \o/

I already downloaded and watched the first episode of American Horror Story: Asylum (a.k.a. season 2). For anyone who wants to watch along with me (lookin' at yous, becc_j and cassiopeia7 ;D), you can download the first episode here.

Rachel :D

hiatus TV watchin'

2013-12-07T21:51:57Z

Now that most of my shows are on holiday hiatus, I decided to finally give American Horror Story a go. Disturbing show is DISTURBING...and that is exactly why I love it so far. Every character is seriously messed up and I've only watched the first two episodes. Hopefully the awesomeness continues throughout the season.

If anyone else would like to watch along with me, I downloaded the first episode here.

Rachel :D