Saw Monsta X at Radio City Music Hall last week and now I can’t physically stop listening to Monsta X. 🤷
The last few years I’ve been doing birthday self-portrait illustrations -- this year I bought myself some gouache as birthday gift and I finally got around to trying it today! So here is my belated birthday selfie. I have never used gouache before, so this was... a challenge. But I think it turned out okay!
Another year, another super fun X-Men fashion panel at Flamecon...! Digitally this year, but it was still such a treat to get to come up with fun costuming and chat about it with such wonderful panelists.
Here are my takes on Destiny, had she gone to the Hellfire Gala, and Iceman, at a future Hellfire Gala with an “Elements” theme. (”Water” or “ice” would have been too easy, right?!)
If you made it to the panel, I hope you had as much fun as I did!!
All proceeds will go to the Emergency Release Fund, an organization that posts bail for people held in NYC jails, prioritizing BIPOC trans people.
The fundraiser ends 5/27 (so your shirt arrives in time for the second half of pride month), so get yours now!
HOURLY* COMICS DAY 2021! (*ish)
I wanted to participate this year because Hourly Comics Day always makes me remember the good times spent hanging with friends doing & drawing fun stuff as a group... even though we’re not able to be together right now, participating in HCD still makes me feel connected to those friends!!
Also, turns out it’s a lot more fun to draw comics about your day when that day involves: bunny.
Since there were no conventions this year, I decided to put some new/old things up for sale online! You can buy these things and more at the @badinfluencepress webshop.
So I, uh, finally read Gideon The Ninth. Here is a Gideon. Please imagine Harrow off-screen, making whatever expression you think Harrow would be making.
If you have not yet read Gideon The Ninth, and you are picking up what this goofy pin-up is putting down, may I recommend to you: reading Gideon The Ninth????
Been trying something new (old?)! I bought some watercolor supplies and have been doing portraits to figure out how to paint with them; it’s a medium I’ve never really seriously tried to use before, and it.... does not play to my strengths, to say the least!! I’m used to being able to revise endlessly, and I am not known for patience.
That said, I’m already improving, and it’s been fun to brush off my drafting skills! In the order I painted them, left to right & top to bottom: Wang Yibo, Satoshi Ohno, Matsumoto Jun, Kim Jonghyun.
When I was in middle school I LOVED Arashi (嵐), and this past year I found out that not only are they still making music (20 years going strong!!!), but also that their music HAS CONTINUED TO SLAP THE ENTIRE TIME.
So for my birthday this year, I dug up a copy their “How’s It Going?” 2003 concert DVD, which I had strong memories of having watched as a teen, and made all my friends watch it! It also Still Slaps.
One particular part stood out to me -- Masaki Aiba’s solo,“Yokaze”. As far as I can tell, it was never recorded or performed outside of this tour! The performance itself isn’t even on Youtube, though the song is! It is an absolutely STUNNING performance, from costume to song to the way it was sung! Everything about it rules! And I felt that THE PEOPLE (you) NEEDED TO KNOW, so I drew this (deeply accidentally vaporwave) tribute to it.
Do yourself a favor and listen to it here!!!!
TL;DR: thank you to Arashi for making both 2003 and 2020 bearable for me, and specifically, a message for Aiba: THIS PERFORMANCE WAS SO GOOD!!!!!
Some days.................you just gotta get back to your ROOTS.
I learned to draw for ONE REASON and ONE REASON ONLY, which was: to draw anime characters kissing. It is good to think about occasionally, lest I Forget where I came from. Anyway, I blame this interview for reminding me that DNAngel existed.
A take on Pygmalion -- I did this for a fandom exchange earlier this year, but totally forgot to post after reveals. It’s definitely the most intense illustration I’ve done in a while, and I had a lot of fun!!
S-Rank Mission = Date Night? Sasuke & Naruto are either very badly adjusted OR extremely well-adjusted, considering everything. I don’t know if anyone is 100% sure which it is. They are also super in love.
Not to dismiss the dedicated summer goths, but you can definitely tell when everyone’s ready for the weather to change because we’ve all slammed the ALL BLACK OUTFIT button getting dressed that morning.
I loved these kids when I was 14 and it turns out I also still love them now! I recently reread all of Naruto for no reason other than that the spirit moved me, and it was an extremely emotional and enjoyable experience. So I drew Team 7.
FLAMECON YEAR FIVE: Catch me at table #O133 (with the phenomenal @careydraws!) for art prints, comics, hockey bullshit, and a new autobio zine! Come to FlameCon this coming weekend, August 17-18... if you’re in NYC, I promise it’s worth braving Times Square to come check out! It’s always a wonderful time, and I’m so thrilled to be tabling again!
BONUS CONTENT for last drawing... one of the coolest things about Procreate is the ability to record your drawing! This particular drawing took more deliberation than it otherwise might have because its my first real stab at working like this, but I thought it might be neat to see anyway.
I was recently lucky enough to be able to get an iPad Pro, and I drew a moody summer selfie to try it out! It’s taking some getting used to, but I’m excited to get better at it and get to do more drawing in places other than my house (like friends’ houses!?!?!). Also, the pencil brush in Procreate is AMAZING.