Commissions and Marketing!

This past week I finished two big commissions and I'm sketching out a third and I did a whole bunch of marketing/promo for Little Asian Sweatshop! So yeah! Keeping busy!!

Portrait commission for tattoo artist Cyn Rudzis,
in trade for my Wonder Woman tattoo

Roller derby portrait commission for
Kansas City Banked Beauties member Ms Kara Whiplash 

I'm pretty proud of these two new commission pieces. I think it really shows what I can do when I don't have the customer meddling so much in my creative process and actually trusting me to deliver them a top-notch illustration. My commissions are still for the most part closed, with a few exceptions if the money's good or it's a project that sounds particularly fun and non-stressful. I'm trying to figure out a new price point for them since I'm now freelance and can actually focus more with a quicker turnaround in between lettering books. I've also got a lot of other drawing projects I'd like to do as well though once my plate is clear, including various fanart, fabric designs for dresses and I'm actually kicking around the idea of a semi-autobiographical webcomic way way further down the road. I know, freaky. Like, try and take all the random little anecdotes and stories from my life and make them into 1-2 page vignettes that are basically all the stories and tangents I go off on while drunk/stoned but in illustrated form. Part of the appeal for me doing this is that there's no continuity to worry about writing wise, and it's the sort of format I can do as a webcomic. And I can voice my opinions and philosophy on life, and share some of my silly stories about things and eventually do enough of them to collect into a book. Plus the CATHARSIS. My God... This is def something I want to put on the backburner for AWHILE. But once it gets going it could be really cool. We'll see.

In other news I've been submitting tips and singing praises of my best friend Fenny's company Little Asian Sweatshop to various nerdy/geeky fashion websites and gotten some nice returns!! So far we've gotten press from So Geek Chic, Boing Boing, and Fashionably Geek! 

We're also going to have this ad in the program
for the upcoming games for Chesapeake Roller Derby.

All the world is waiting for youuuuu

So with the help of my pal Cyn Rudzis of British Ink in Washington DC I committed my love of Wonder Woman in one of the most permanent ways possible. You might remember Cyn from when I got my Kitty Pryde tattoo on my right arm last year. I absolutely adore her work and I always have so much fun getting zapped with hundreds of ink-filled needles by her that I decided it was time to make good on the trade her and I had talked about. (I *love* doing art for tattoos by artists I absolutely adore!!)



She really outdid herself! I love the red outline on the lasso and she worked in the Invisible Jet!! She even gave her the New Frontier-style boot guards and sword! BADASS!!!



In exchange I'm going to do a portrait of Cyn and her fellow British Inkers as a comic book cover. I'm leaning towards a Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD by Steranko type vibe with a little retro 007 movie poster thrown in. Once I start it of course, it's gestating at the moment. ;)

If you're in the Washington DC area and want to get a pinup tattoo (or really anything- check out her portfolio! The nature/animal/flower work she has is incredible as well) I can't recommend Cyn enough- her sense of composition, detail and color are sick, sick, SICK and her girls are some of the cutest around.