if I change my stride, then I'll fly

[reflectedeve]

Another huge fanart roundup, courtesy of the summer where I only have the energy to manage job search stuff, draw fanart, and let my whole professional identity lie pretty much fallow. :D?

Okay, that sounded a little ... yeah. Actually, things are looking up in a big way! I have a pretty big deal second interview tomorrow, for a position I'm genuinely excited for which also pays better than I'd had any hope of, so. Fingers crossed. And I am having a ball with letting myself soak more or less exclusively in fannish material for a bit. :)



Drawn as a gift for were_duck! I have to say, after reading that one little fic by thingswithwings, I am filled with enthusiasm for this pairing. (Plus I mean, I love Kamala's comic and her supporting cast, but I'm already rather excited for her to interact more with her contemporaries in the Marvel universe ... since I'm experiencing a teen-hero-focused renaissance and all.) I figured that Kamala would be all nervous and wrong-footed on a date with a confident hotass like America, but clearly, all she'd need to find her comfort zone would be ... killer robot attack! Shyness forgotten in a wave of heroic enthusiasm, adorable handholding would ensue while they kicked metal butt.

Really, I wish I had the time and energy (and fearlessness in the face of huge corporate interests within my own field) to make a longer, more fleshed-out piece out of the notion. Still, you get the gist. :) Not super pleased with the way the coloring came out (as usual), but I am pretty thrilled with that last panel. I love working with cheesy old-school elements like exaggerated sound effects and dot screens.



You'd think that, after all the problems with season 3 of Teen Wolf, and the fact that they killed off my favorite character, I might finally lose interest. Right? Wrong, apparently. Instead I have more ideas than I know what to do with! I've started playing with some of the theme weeks that float around tumblr (if only as a way to help me narrow down and focus). For "Allison Argent appreciation week," ataratah and I teamed up on an AU wherein Allison (secretly) became a werewolf after her last battle.

This was a really neat experiment; I haven't really collaborated with another artist this way before! We picked a duality-based theme to showcase both our styles. I sketched out the basic layout and poses, ataratah picked one, and we each developed our own version of Allison. Then we tossed the piece back and forth, both of us doing some of the shading and detailing on the background. I am pretty thrilled with the result! Her graceful, effortless linework is so inspiring. I think I might finally force myself to learn to use a tablet soon, thanks to her influence. :D



Drawn for another theme week, this time Teen Wolf femslash (naturally). Just a quickie, based on my whole ghost!Allison fake spinoff universe. Crystal Reed's face is giving me so much trouble ... I keep wanting to capture that gorgeous, carefree smile she showed off so frequently early on in the show, and it continues to elude me.

Seriously, it's been six years? Six?? My head hurts. But anyway, you might remember that way back when I was first in bandom, I made this weird little comic about Gerard Way and a sentient cup of coffee that tried to force him to draw Umbrella Academy porn. Welllll. I recently had the most unaccountable (and irresistible) urge to try redrawing it.



I dunno, partly a full-circle thing, I guess? The original comic was the beginning of me breaking out of the biggest artistic slump I'd ever had, during my first year living on my own and working full-time. Now I'm post-grad-school in a similar sort of transition place. But mainly ... I was browsing through old work and thinking about the things I've learned over the last few years. About visual communication and flow, drawing real people (struggling to capture a likeness vs. translating into a workable character in one's own style); even technical nuts and bolts like better lettering/word balloon placement/general layout design. So this was a really fun exercise, even though it was a bit weird. Creative time travel!

There's something really satisfying about portraying such a simple sequence, too ... the same character in roughly the same framing, just ... shifting body language and expression, having a conversation. I couldn't resist tightening up the dialogue a little, although there are a few things that make me wince even so. I wouldn't invent this comic now, but that's part of the fun of revisiting one's old self, I guess. Anyway, yeah, this is super self-indulgent, but whatever. ;)

Anyway, last but not least, these two doodles were a result of a prompt request I posted on tumblr & twitter awhile back. (I do that fairly often, and hopefully everyone knows not to be shy!)



For aphrodite_mine, who requested Beth Childs/Alison Hendrix with "jogging or camping." I immediately imagined a competitive dynamic, and there you have it. :) It was fun to play with motion like this!



For ataratah, some Outer Senshi family art. <3 Drawing small children is super hard! I need to practice more, probably with these cuties.

This ... actually isn't quite everything, but I'll take a breath and save the rest for its own post. ;)

Comments

[rhivolution]

As awesome as ever! I love the Teen Wolf one most of all even though I'm not in the fandom! Also Kamala yay!

[reflectedeve]

Thanks buddy! :)

[garrideb]

Oooh, the ghost-Allison/Lydia art is hitting me right in the heart. And the Hunter-Hunted piece is just gorgeous. I love the yellow accents, and Allison's hair, and her badass hunter outfit! And then there's the adorable Kamala/America comic. I've never thought of them as a possible ship, but the idea of them on a date, with Kamala being awkward and shy is super adorable. I think this is going to be my new go-to Kamala ship. ;-)

[reflectedeve]

Thank you so much, you're very kind! :)

I don't generally do much 'shipping of characters who have never interacted in canon, but fic won me over on America and Kamala. It's just too cute! So much potential.

[umadoshi]

This is mainly a "hi, I just subscribed to you!" comment (hello!), but I also wanted to say I especially like both the Orphan Black and Sailor Moon art. *^^*

[reflectedeve]

Oh, hello! Thank you so much, an all counts. :)