Small Shen – Colour Art

Hi all! I’ve been away in Hong Kong for a while, and I had a pretty good rest there. Once I got back, however, I found myself besieged with problems. Firstly it was a stomach bug, then it was a computer virus, and now it’s a minor health problem. All-in-all, none of these things are serious, and they’ll all eventually be fixed… it’s just that it’s annoying, that’s all.

What I’m doing right now: Working on finishing a “Legend of Zelda” fanfiction I started years ago, in 2006 and posted on my DeviantArt account. I feel I must finish it, so I’m going to do this before I start work on my next book. Arrgh!! Nose to paper! I’ve made good progress though, and so far there’s 89 finished pages. I will post the first chapter in early October, once Yunyu comes back from overseas (she is writing music for some of the locations in the fanfic).

Colour Art for “Small Shen”: The book’s coming out this Xmas, and this week I show some colour art I did of some of the characters from “Small Shen” a while ago – namely Gold and Jade. A composite of these two pictures form the site banner for “Small Shen”, but here you can see the originals separately, to see what they’re like. The colouring styles for both are quite different, and it was a fun experiment.

 

smallshen-jadegold

Here’s the composite image for the “Small Shen” cover


 
smallshen-jade

Here is just Jade alone. I spent a lot of time getting some Mucha influence into her hair, and it’s too bad it’s obscured by Gold on the cover.


 
smallshen-gold

Here is male-Gold, and female-Gold. Male Gold appears only in the comic-prose part of “Small Shen” (his is a character who identifies mostly as male anyway, being a stone spirit without any gender originally), but female gold appears in the prose sections.

Posted in Art, Books, Small Shen | Leave a comment

Small Shen is Finished!

But first, here’s an interview with me from the lovely Rowena Cory Daniells, a famous fantasy author. Fantasy authors unite! Also, I’m being featured in Cordite 39, the “Jackpot” issue!

I’ve also finished Small Shen, the prequel to Kylie Chan’s best-selling “White Tiger” Chinese fantasy series. I busted my spleen to finish it by the end of July, and now that I’ve finally made that date, I just feel exhausted. Not so much by Small Shen, but by having done House of Odd (the last Odd Thomas graphic novel) and this book back-to-back. The last time I did something similar was with The Dreaming v3 and In Odd We Trust (the first Odd Thomas graphic novel), and to be honest, I wasn’t as exhausted back then. I think that as I get older, my tolerance for stuff like this just goes down. (That said, what is it about the last book in a series that causes me to have to immediately start a new book in the next series?)

Small Shen will be out in December 2012!!

Either way, I’m going on a month long holiday, and will probably take a break, returning in September 2012. During this time, I’ll be reworking this site a bit, by integrating the front page with my tumblr account. WordPress is a good blogging platform, but I feel it just lacks the social component that a microblogging site like Tumblr has – so I’m attempting to change my front page to my Tumblr, while leaving all other aspects of the site as WordPress. How it’s going to work? I don’t know – I hope that the old site wouldn’t have to change too much.

Posted in Small Shen | 4 Comments

Yunyu Tour – Sydney Leg

Hi all, I’ve been flat out busy working on the tail end of Small Shen… so much that I feel I’m going a little crazy. Luckiily I only have 1 more week of inks to go, before I plow into the tones and then FINITO!! Wow, it’s been a sprint – doing 2 books back-to-back without a break. I need a 3-week holiday after this, and I don’t care what’s a-happening!!

I also set up a Tumblr account, just to see what the fuss was about. It seems an easy place to upload pictures, so that’s what I’ve done a few pics of (in whatever spare time I have), mostly for the next series I want to work on. I can’t reveal anything right now because (a) I need to finish Small Shen, and (b) I need a holiday, but I’m thinking of giving this site a bit of a facelift soon. We shall see.

Anyway, today I’ve got Yunyu’s Sydney concert to promote, which is happening 30th June! It’s the last leg of the tour, and here’s the tour poster I made for her. The Brisbane show at the Powerhouse was a big success (full house), so here’s hoping the Sydney one sells out too.

 

What: Yunyu: Twisted Tales Tour
Where: Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Sydney, NSW 2012 (Australia) – Map
When: 30th June, 8:00 pm
Cost: $25 – Buy

 
 
yunyutour

Posted in Art, Music, Twisted Tales | 3 Comments

Recommendation: Skip Beat!

I’ve been plowing through the inks for “Small Shen”, seeing that this is the last leg of the book. I hope to get at least all 60 pages done by the end of June, which is a bit of a stretch, but I think I can do it!! Such is the life of rushing deadlines.

I realise I haven’t recommended something for a while, so this week I’ll be writing a recommendation for a popular shoujo manga: Skip Beat!

 
skipbeat-cover

Skip Beat!
(28+ volumes)

I haven’t read Skip Beat! for a while, but I can still remember the totally fun reading experience I had with this series. I only had one afternoon to read it, and I literally speed-read through my friend’s collection. I think I only got up to volume 20, but I would have read more, if more was available at the time.

 

Plot
Skip Beat! follows the story of 16 year-old Kyoko Mogami, who has always been in love with her childhood friend Shotaro Fuwa. While they were growing up, Kyoko acted as Sho’s doormat and gopher, though Shotaro felt no feelings for her, and only thought of her as his slave. Eventually, Sho has Kyoko move to Tokyo so she can slave away as his housekeeper assistant while he pursues a career in showbiz. Sho has some success, though he soon grows arrogant, and Kyoko one day overhears him telling his manager what a boring and plain girl Kyoko is… thus sparking a falling out between Sho and Kyoko that can only be described as “epic”.

Kyoko realises that Sho never cared for her to begin with, and the confrontation between the two causes Sho to throw her out of his house. In retaliation, Kyoko decides to take revenge on Sho, by getting a make-over and climbing the showbiz ladder herself. Her ultimate goal being revenge, she eventually meets another movie star called Tsuruga Ren, who eventually falls in love with her. As their relationship progresses, Kyoko starts to learn more about herself, and to develop a sense of purpose and self outside her initial goals of revenge.

 

Why I recommend this story
I think I’ve made Skip Beat! sound darker than it really is. This actually is a comedy series with streaks of drama and romance, and instead of the usual earnest angst that characterises such stories, this goes for laughs instead if dark moments. In the demographics stake, Skip Beat! falls firmly into the “shoujo romance” category, but with one glaring difference – this one takes the usual shoujo tropes of doormat heroine and distant love interest, and subverts them in a wicked way.

There’s been other shoujo stories such as Kare Kano and Fruit Baskets that also subvert the typical shoujo heroine, but this one out-does in the other two in its gleeful depiction of Kyoko’s darker moments. In fact, this can be said of all the other characters that appear in the series – all of them have a lot more to them than initially meets the eye, especially when it comes to negative traits. That’s not to say they’re two-faced or unlikeable. Most of the characters are adorable, despite their selfishness and pettiness – this is one manga that actually celebrates the way the characters revel in their bad behaviour, whereas another manga would punish them for the same transgressions.

Is it right for a character to be driven entirely by revenge? The story is subtle in the way that Kyoko eventually comes to realise that she really does enjoy showbiz, and that she can have a career outside her single-minded pursuit of Sho’s demise. That’s not to say that this manga has a realistic take on Japanese show-biz – this is pure character dramady, with show-biz as a backdrop, and the creator even freely admits she barely knows anything about actualy show business.

Not that it matters much. Skip Beat! is funny, is charming, and never takes itself too seriously. If you’re looking for something light-hearted with a sweet and upbeat heroine who only has the one flaw of being hilariously nasty about the guy who betrayed her, then this is your book. It’s wonderful to see Kyoko’s negative traits in full-force, because you rarely see such things handled in such a well-balanced and funny way in shoujo.

Posted in Recommendations | Leave a comment

Small Shen: More Art

Hi all! I have finally finished all the pencils for the “Small Shen” book! It’s got 9 chapters in all, plus a prologue, making a total of about 163 illustrated pages, including the chapter covers (which I will be doing in an interesting and very different style for a particular purpose – ha! Not telling you!). The whole book is on track to be finished at the end of July, which will give it a Xmas 2012 release. It’s looking good so far!

Now that I’ll be working on the inks for the last part of the book, I will show you some art from chapters 3-4!

SS_03_01

SS_03_02SS_03_10SS_03_13SS_03_20SS_04_17

Posted in Art, Books, Manga-Comics, Small Shen | 7 Comments

Pikachu – Free Crochet Pattern

I’m really flying through the pencils for Small Shen… I’m already near the end of Chapter 8. After that, it’s only Chapter 9 and the prologue, which is about 20 pages. After inking and toning, that’ll be the end of July, which is just in time for a Xmas release. WOW!

Then, what’s up next is… this.

 
 
pokemon
 

Anyway, this week, I get to do a pokemon crochet… of which many people have asked for. Previously, I thought Pikachu may have been too complicated to do, but it seems not. This wasn’t that much harder than some of the other crochets I’ve done. Either way, here’s Pikachu!!

 
 
Pikachu
 

Pikachu Pattern

Here’s a list of what I used to make this crochet. It’s not a definite list, so feel free to use whatever you have, as long as it’s appropriate. It’s crocheted in the round, like most amigurumi, so only basic crochet skills are required.

NB. This pattern is created by me, so please give a link back to me if you want to use it or if you want to sell your crochet. Please give credit where it’s due. I should also that I don’t own the copyright to these characters – obviously Studio Ghibli does.

  • Yellow, black, red and brown 8 ply yarn
  • 4mm crochet hook
  • Two pairs of 8mm black safety eyes – 6060 from Etsy is a good place to buy these
  • Large sewing needle, to sew the bits and pieces together

 

Crochet Abbreviations

Here are a list of the abbreviations I use, and what they mean. These are pretty standard, so if you know how to crochet, this won’t be hard to decipher:

  • ch – chain
  • sc – single chain
  • dec – decrease
  • * – beginning/end of a repeating part of the pattern

 
 
pikachu2
 

Pikachu Body (Make 1, yellow)

Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – *2 sc in next stitch*, repeat 6 times (12 stitches)
Rnd 3 – *2 sc in next stitch, sc 1*, repeat 6 times (18 stitches)
Rnd 4 – *2 sc in next stitch, sc 2*, repeat 6 times (24 stitches)
Rnd 5 – *2 sc in next stitch, sc 3*, repeat 3 times (30 stitches)
Rnd 6 – 8 – sc (30 stitches)
Rnd 9 – *2 sc in next stitch, sc 4*, repeat 3 times (36 stitches)
Rnd 10 – sc (36 stitches)
Rnd 11 – *dec 1 in back loops ONLY*, repeat 18 times (18 stitches)
Rnd 12 – *2 sc in next stitch, sc 2*, repeat 6 times (24 stitches)
Rnd 13 – sc (24 stiches)
Rnd 14 – *2 sc in next stitch, sc 3*, repeat 3 times (30 stitches)
Rnd 15-22 – sc (30 stitches)

Stuff the body now, and add 8mm safety eyes
Rnd 23 – *dec 1 in back loops ONLY*, repeat 15 times (15 stitches)
Rnd 24 – *dec 1*, repeat 8 times (8 stitches)

Bind off, and then sew the facial features onto Pikachu with black and red wool.

 
 
pikachu3
 

Pikachu Feet (Make 2, yellow)

Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – *2 sc in next stitch*, repeat 6 times (12 stitches)
Rnd 3 – *2 sc in next stitch, sc 1*, repeat 6 times (18 stitches)
Rnd 4 – *2 sc in next stitch, sc 2*, repeat 6 times (24 stitches)

Fold each foot in half, and sew them together to make a semi-circle. Sew onto the bottom of the body to make the feet.

 
 
pikachu4
 

Pikachu Ears (Make 2, yellow, black)

Using black
Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 4 sc in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – *2 sc in next stitch, sc 1*, repeat 2 times (6 stitches)
Rnd 3 – *2 sc in next stitch, sc 1*, repeat 2 times (8 stitches)

Change to yellow
Rnd 4 – 10 – sc (8 stitches)

Bind off, stuff lightly, then sew onto the top of Pikachu’s head to make the ears.

 
 
pikachu5
 

Pikachu Hands (Make 2, yellow)

Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – *2 sc in next stitch, sc 1*, repeat 3 times (9 stitches)
Rnd 3-7 – sc (9 stitches)

Bind off, stuff lightly, then sew onto the sides of Pikachu to make the arms.

 
 
pikachu6
 

Brown Strip on Back (Make 1, brown)

Rnd 1 – Ch 8 (8 stitches)
Rnd 2 – sc (8 stitches)

Bind off, then sew onto the back of Pikachu.

 
 
pikachu7
 

Pikachu Tail (Make 1, yellow, brown)

Rnd 1 – Ch 9 (8 stitches)
Rnd 2-4 – sc 8, then sc an additional 4 chains off the end of Rnd 4 (8 stitches)
Rnd 5 – sc 8 stitches (8 stitches)
Rnd 6-8 8 sc, then switch to brown. Then sc an additional 4 chains off the end of the last row (8 stitches)
Rnd 9 – sc 8 stitches (8 stitches)
Rnd 10-12 – sc

Bind off, then sew onto the bottom back of Pikachu to make the tail.

 
And Viola! You have a Pikachu to fit into the palm of your hand!
 

Posted in Free Patterns, Hobbies-and-Crafts | 2 Comments

Doodles for Odd Thomas books

This week, I am blazing through the pencils for the last 3rd of Small Shen. I also went to Free Graphic Novel Day at Kinokuniya, which was a lot of fun. I signed some books and did some sketches for them, and here I show you a bunch of sketches I did for a series of signed (by me and Dean Kootz) books that I get to send back to someone who’s been doing this since the very first Odd Thomas graphic novel. This book is the last Odd Thomas book I’ll be doing, so I look back with some fondness.

 
sketch-odd

sketch-stormy

sketch-ozzie

sketch-nedra

sketch-vern

sketch-cassandra

sketch-kirk

sketch-youngodd

sketch-mum

sketch-cover
 

And here’s a picture of Dean’s autograph! With mine below…

 
autograph

Posted in Art, Odd Thomas Series | 2 Comments

Felt Cookies

This week I finished toning chapter 4 of Small Shen, so the book is officially two-thirds done! I’m taking a few days off, before I get to work on the last third of the book. In other news, a few weeks ago, I did an interview with IGotSuperpowers.com at Adelaide Comic-Con, and it’s now up online, thanks to Nathan.

This week I get to show you… felted cookie magnets. It’s from a kit I bought from a Japanese shopping site, and there’s 4 separate kits in the series. I bought them all, but can’t say there’s a lot of variation between the different cookies. They’re magnets though, so if you’re looking for stuff to stick to your fridge…

 

cookies1

Step 1: The boxes. Aren't they cute? Great packaging!


 
cookies2

Step 2: Open everything up, and check that it's there. Usually it is.


 
cookies3

Step 3: None of these are particularly complicated to sew, but here they all are, all at once!


 

Here’s the final 12 cookie-magnets:

 
cookies

Posted in Hobbies-and-Crafts | 2 Comments