Because of the holidays, I've been spending less time at the drawing table creating full pieces and spending much more time in the sketchbook planning pieces for the new year. Since my final semester of college wrapped up a couple of weeks back, I wanted to start off strong and get into the habit of creating more pieces as well as continuing to be self motivated.

Since winter is now upon us, I figured it was a good time to take my old Ice Giant watercolor and bring it to the level I originally intended.

I also want to continue to improve on my digital coloring techniques since that is the direction I want to take my work in. I see my pieces as 75% traditional (piece planned on paper, sketched on bristol, and inked with a brush) and 25% digital (coloring the piece, changing lines colors, and cleaning unwanted ink up). For a while I didn't want to go digital because I liked the fact that I had a one of a kind piece, but my new method gives me an original ink drawing and a digital piece that brings my work to the next level. I get the best of both traditional and digital.

Since the convention season is looming in the spring time, I'll also be creating more little zines like Goblin Guild (soon to be a full color version) as well as putting together a book of many of the toned paper drawings I've created over the past year. The book will be professionally printed and will only be available at cons and comic shops I attend events at (if by popular demand maybe available online... kickstarter?). I will be attending Illuxcon again next year and even got a table at the showcase on Friday and Saturday nights, where I'll be selling prints, books and originals. It's not even the new year and I'm already planning 5 months ahead of time. But I think that's normal....

The first piece of the new year will be my final illustration I created for my independent study. It's pretty awesome.