Art Summary 2017

Posted on by luxshine

So… we’re in the final post of the year. First year I told myself I was going to be constant with my posting on social media, and I re-started my own site and brand as Calico Chimera. It’s been a bumpy ride, to be honest, but I am happy with the results, especially as well, it’s the first time I am able to fill one of these Art Summaries with one image per month (and choosing some months was HARD), and I’m really happy with the results.

(BTW, the blank template is from DustBunnyThumper at Deviantart. Credit where Credit is due)

I did notice that I forgot to post some of the images here. Sure, I decided that Deviant Art would be mostly for fanart, and everywhere else for everything, but I never posted the Horsemen and Squires in Art Noveau borders here! That was a big overlook! (So I guess I will post them in 2018, just for competition sake). Also, I have to balance more my finished color original pieces and the fanart since this year it looks as I did more fanart (But of course, that doesn’t count comic pages, or sketches)

Most of this comes, of course, thanks to the amazing support I’ve had this year. And since this is the last post of the year, I can’t let it go without thanking Mandi Gordon, Writer’s Block writer and Dream Keeper Robin’s editor. Half of the illustrations here wouldn’t exist if she hadn’t supported me, pushed me to my limits, and kept pushing me from under my drawing table.

In any case, thank you for reading this, thank you for being with me and supporting me through 2017. Here’s to 2018 where I hope we all have a much better year!

Memory Lane: R.E.D.

Posted on by luxshine

Back when I was doing fanzines in 1996, I wanted to do EVERYTHING. Like, I couldn’t choose one genre and stick to it. So, when Lyonesse (That it’s in the Old Projects tab if you’re curious) was going to end, I cranked designs for about 5 different stories, draw two pages of it, and put it up to vote among the 300/400 readers that the Anime fanzine I edited with Gabriela Maya had. (Maybe there were more readers, I’ve got to admit that I never knew exactly how many people read us. I just knew they bought the fanzine at comic book stores, and that we had subscribers from all over the country).

R.E.D. -Professional Thieves, Anonymous Society- was not one of the most popular of those ideas, but I had a soft spot for them. I’ve always loved heist stories, so… I just wanted to do one. I just never developed them further after they lost (Out of the five, they were second to last in the voting process, although it was maybe due to the fact that it was the last preview we ran), even if I loved heists, mostly due to the fact that I finally debuted professionally around then and I started doing a lot more shojo stories. (They appeared in a Conque Convention special magazine, kidnapping the organizer, and in another one for the same convention stealing everything from the booths. I wish I still had those pages to show you guys)

(Of course, while the watercolor I did was directly based in their original looks, except for Diamond whom I decided looked a lot better with darker skin, If I do go back to a heist-based idea, it would not be women in brightly colored jumpsuits. THAT particular trend should’ve stayed in the 80’s)

Inktober 2017 part 4

Posted on by luxshine

And here´s the last part of my 2017 Inktober. While these were made in what I jokingly called “Latevember”, it was very satisfying to finish. Can´t wait for next year!

And well, I finished with mostly villains. The one that may not count, at least for half the novel, is Bobby, but she also did some horrible things.

Zelda – Pet Semetary
Rosie the Hat – Dr. Sleep
Bobby Anderson – The Tommyknockers
It – It

Inktober 2017 part 3

Posted on by luxshine

Third part of my 2017 Inktober, with Stephen King’s most amazing ladies. Despite me trying to pick a random order, for some reason here is where the most terrifying eldrich abominations ended up (except for one, who I had chosen to be the last one). It also ended up having my two favorite strong women of all his books, Bev and Dayna.

Perse – Duma Key
Mother – Revival
Susannah Dean – The Dark Tower Series
Beverly Marsh – It
Mrs. Massey – The Shining
Trish McFarland – The Girl Who loved Tom Gordon
Rhea of the Coos – The Dark Tower Series
Rose Madder – Rose Madder
Dayna Jurgens – The Stand

Inktober 2017 part 2

Posted on by luxshine

When I drew this 9 images,  I was still on top of my inktober deadline. And that was even stopping to read some of the books that I hadn’t read in a long time.

Some of these are my favorites,  like Carrie and Margaret White, and of course, Annie Wilkes. Again, what I love about Stephen King is that his women are full characters, not just cardboard tropes.

Abra – Dr. Sleep
Margaret White – Carrie
Jessie Burlingame – Gerald’s Game
Annie Wilkes – Misery
Alice Maxwell – Cell
Carrie White – Carrie
Polly Chalmers – Needful Things
Ardelia Lortz – The Library Policeman
Lisey Landon – Lisey’s Story

 

Inktober 2017 part 1

Posted on by luxshine

This was the first year I could complete Inktober (Ok, so I was a bit late due to my trip to Orlando and Spooky Empire, but I did finish). Most of the reasons why, I think, was because I choose a subject I was passionate about, and that I hadn’t had the chance to draw much: Stephen King’s amazing female characters.

So here it’s the first part of the Inktober set, now scanned and cleaner than when I took photos for Instagram. I  hope you like them as much as I did.

Donna Reed – Cujo
Susan Norton – Salem’s Lot
Holly Gibney – Mr. Mercedes
Ellen Carver – Desperation
Dolores Claiborne – Dolores Claiborne
Charlie McGee – Firestarter
Nadine Cross – The Stand
Mother Carmody – The Mist
Henrietta Dodd – The Dead Zone