Wednesday, November 27, 2013

jsw + agw sketchcards, a mommy & son collaboration

"green ranger, go!" 2.5 x 3.5

"bats" 2.5 x 3.5

"akuma" & "ryu" battle set, each card 2.5 x 3.5
a great way to bond w/ your children is to do something messy w/ them. like finger painting or cooking.

in our house, we have art day. days where we watch old cartoons on netflix & draw. my son (4yrs old) would get upset & frustrated that his drawings would never look like ours. my husband & i are comic book artists.  how do you explain patience to a 4yr old? how do you explain years & years of practice?

i wanted to show my son that art is never perfect. that you can have fun in art. that you learn through doing. that sometimes, as bob ross said, “happy accidents” can happen. i thought the best way to keep him interested in art (& circumvent any frustrations) was to have him help me work on stuff.

so we did a few sketchcards together. sketchcards were perfect! they’re small & don’t require a lot of time (do you know the attention span of a 4yr old?). i drew & inked & he threw crazy watercolors all over them. he enjoys watercolors, mixing the paints together, dabbing the excess, & then slapping on a new color.

i may be a bit biased, but i think these are some of the most beautiful pieces i’ve ever been lucky enough to collaborate in. :)

& he’s already got me on a list of MORE characters he wants to do. can’t wait!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Turra: Gun Angel becomes live action!

[random somebody]:  so, janet, what did you do over the weekend?
[moi]:  oh, you know, watched a live-action movie short get made of 1 of our comic book characters.  *shrugs*

... i mean, who gets to really say that???  well, yeah, me.

we went from this...


inked cover
full blown colors. Turra: Gun Angel - "Utsu" (which means 'to shoot' in japanese)

to this...

from our indygogo campaign in march 2013.
& then to this... 

Turra Gun Angel - "Utsu" live action promo poster w/ actress rachel alig.


greg gray, the man w/ the camera.



pop!  pop!  pop!
dance scene.

montrel grant as a heavy w/ Turra creator martheus wade.
our cosplaying Turra & Jetta, micah & sara, add to the club scene's ambience.

Turra & uber-Toshigawa fan, michael armstrong.
this is interesting. zach wheeler (the hacker/hostage), john dylan atkins (a nervous baddie), & rachel alig (Turra).

hostage scene!
Turra (rachel alig), marcus kent hamson, alexandra wolfe.
eric crimmins (the skinny pimp himself) & Turra.
getting a touch up from blake.

uh oh. someone's about to get shot.
of course the car's white.  can't break up the white theme we have going, sheesh!


so much fun was had.  no egos.  no attitudes.  no mishaps.

& now a few words of thanks & appreciation from mr. wade:

"We want to take this moment to thank every donor, every supporter, every single person who helped us make this past weekend a success. Shooting this weekend was exciting, adventurous, and very fun. Without Team Turra behind us, none of this would have been possible. But don't think the Turra ride ends here, folks. We will be packaging up incentives this week and shipping them. As well, Marshal Pictures will be editing and prepping the scene for release! Be on the lookout for that one!! We still need the excitement and enthusiasm that you brought to this project when the release of the short hits the web in order to turn heads for phase 2... FEATURE PRODUCTION. With that said, tell everyone you know about the awesomeness of Turra: Gun Angel. We will need everyone to spread the word! Thanks guys! There is more to come!"



Tuesday, July 2, 2013

"white mane"

"white mane" WIP (pencils & inks)

"white mane" WIP color flats

"white mane" ~~saltygirl


i am not on here as regularly as i would like to be.  things, like life, get me sidetracked.

i'm not quite sure where this blog is suppose to go.  i like to post my art up, but i don't create art regularly enough.  :(

looking at a ton of thrift/diy fashion blogs make we wanna post fashion-y things as well, but i don't take the time to set up the camera to take selfies, nor do i craft diy things often enough.

ugh.

Friday, April 5, 2013

about this whole "cosplay is not consent" thing...

...aka "how to behave in public..."

i am not a cosplayer.  a part of me would LOVE to rock a korra costume, but alas, i don't have the time, funds, or energy to make 1 to wear at cons.  & besides that, when i am at cons, i'm busy doing sketches or selling books (subliminal message***BUY JETTA: TALES OF THE TOSHIGAWA & TURRA: GUN ANGEL & DON'T FORGET TO SUPPORT THE TURRA INDYGOGO CAMPAIGN !!!***  end message).

recently there have been stories of the ugly side of cosplaying, where girls get harassed or put in compromising positions because of the costumes they wear.  stuff like creeping, stalking, gropping, dropping crude remarks or request. 

there are some who say the girls who claim harassment are overly sensitive or blowing things out of proportion, or even worse, are ASKING for it. 

"comments & looks come w/ the territory if you cosplay as a sexy character. if you don't want attention, don't dress up.  like i don’t leave my car or house door unlocked because i could get robbed.”  that’s good thinking ahead.  but even if you did forget to lock up & get robbed, do you get blamed for the robbery?  or do they arrest the person who robbed you?  who did the wrong thing here?  & really, who asks for shit to happen to them?  whether a girl cosplays as a frikkin tauntaun or as vampirella, that’s her business.  & why she's dressed up as whatever, whether she wants attention or loves the character or is paid by a company to model, it is her business also.  how you conduct yourself is yours.  & you do know how to mind your own biz, rt?  if you don’t know this, go home & slap yo mama for me, please & thank you.  because she should’ve taught you better.

others argue that the characters that wear these skimpy outfits do it to fulfill some male fantasy.  these are overly sexual characters in a world of make-believe.  if you are aware of that, then you are also aware that a con is in our reality, & these girls who dress up are not the actual sexy characters you see in the books or on tv, but are people of our reality, just dressed in costume.   & since this is the real world, you should know how to conduct yourself around others in a real world setting, right?  if you don’t know this, go home & kick yo mama so hard in the kidneys for me that she pisses blood for a week, please & thank you.  because, seriously, she should’ve taught you better.

you worry about what YOU do & how YOU behave, not about her because of the costume she chose to wear.

now, if you wanna tell me i should stfu because i've stated "i'm not a cosplayer" in my very 1st sentence of this post, let me show you how all this relates to the world outside cosplaying.

cosplay world:  "comments & looks come w/ the territory if you cosplay as a sexy character. if you don't want attention, don't dress up."
real world:  "if she didn't want it, she wouldn't have worn that short skirt or been out alone at night or gone to that party w/ alcohol."
translation: "she's a girl, & doesn't have actual thoughts or feelings, & it doesn't matter what she wears or doesn't wear or where she is or what situation she's in because i will conjure in my head an excuse to make it ok for me to do or say whatever to her.  & in fact she should be THANKING me that i'm even paying her any attention."

cosplay world: "she's dressed up as a character that is a nympho.  what does she expect?"
real world:  "she's wearing red heels i saw a porn star wear once.  what does she expect?"
translation: "she's a girl, & doesn't have actual thoughts or feelings, & it doesn't matter what she wears or doesn't wear or where she is or what situation she's in because i will conjure in my head an excuse to make it ok for me to do or say whatever to her. & in fact she should be THANKING me that i'm even paying her any attention."

so this is how the world is & we should be ok w/ it?  this is why it's been suggested that women carry mace & guns w/ them to lessen the chance of them being raped.  this is why scientists in india are busy inventing a shock bra to foil attackers & folks in south africa have made a contraption for a woman to put inside herself that would tear up a rapist's penis??

because it's just too damn hard to teach people how to conduct themselves in public & to treat others w/ respect, i guess.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Turra: Gun Angel indygogo campaign


 
my husband & i have launched an Turra: Gun Angel indygogo campaign.  spread the word.  check out our site.  & don't forget to donate & help us out.  :)

Short Summary...
Marshal Pictures and MAW Productions are teaming up to bring the comic book character Turra : Gun Angel to a screen near you!

Turra has been raised as a ninja assassin and is burnt out on the endless training and constant killing. She leaves Japan to become a bounty hunter in America.

After the particularly brazen extraction of a target from a night club, Turra is visited by an elder member of the Japanese Mafia who offers her a job she can't refuse.

Being Turra, however, she does refuse and she soon lands in the middle of Yakuza Civil War!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013