Dexter in color

I finished Dexter (here’s the sketch), and he turned out somewhat close to what I originally had in mind. I was hoping for more dramatic lighting, but that seemed to leave him too dark in the shadows, so I lightened him and the whole scene up a little.

The glowing green and purple colors took some getting used to since most of what I do uses colors that are closer to earth tones than flourescents. But I knew I had to do it, so I put the painting aside for a couple weeks, hoping it would look better later. When I finally came back to it, the color didn’t seem as garish as when I had left it.

I like him enough that I’ll probably use him for my next postcard promotional mailing in May.

You can click on the image to see him larger.

Graphic novelette available for preview

I’ve uploaded the short graphic novel Dead Line to the “Extras” page of the Hairy Eyeballs site. But to make it easier for you, I’m also embedding the whole thing below (yep, I understand laziness). Just click on the middle of the book to see it biggie-sized.

The short originally printed in Seton Hill University‘s art and literary magazine, Eye Contact, but with a different ending (well, just a different last line, really). I used it for promotional purposes shortly after its publication in Eye Contact but, again, with the first ending.

So if you’ve seen it before, take another look. This version is closer to what I originally had in mind.

New photography portfolio images

I’ve updated my photography portfolio with several more landscape images and photos from Banning No. 3 Mine. Click on “portfolio” and choose “photography.” These are all silver gelatin prints, made the old-fashioned way with film, chemicals, paper, dodging and burning.

My portfolio site URL: http://www.norathompson.us

Banning No. 3 Mine operated just outside Van Meter, PA and is off the Yough River bike trail, part of the Great Allegheny Passage. You can read in more detail about the Darr Mine history and explosion at http://patheoldminer.rootsweb.ancestry.com/darr.html

Rough sketch for kid’s illustration

I so lied about making you wait. Here’s the sketch of Dexter in the setting I came up with for him. He’s in just a little bit of trouble, but I think he’ll be O.K.

His puppy’s name is Poindexter.

Sample short story now available

I’ve uploaded what might be considered the “title track” of the (as yet untitled) book on the official Hairy Eyeballs site. To make it simpler, I’ve also embedded it here so you don’t even have to leave this page. Just click in the middle of the book to see it full screen.

Just a note: This is a very early rough draft, and will likely be edited much over the next few months. I just wanted to give an idea of what kinds of stories to expect so I can scare off the faint of heart well in advance of the really juicy stuff.

Sneak peek at a new sketch for a promo illustration

Everybody, meet Dexter.

He got here because of a doodle that was originally meant just for me. I started drawing one night, and consciously convinced myself not to censor. I finished him and turned the page, but I found that I kept turning the pages back to take another look. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but he kept getting cuter every time, so I decided to do something about it.
The biggest problem I had was trying to figure out what he was looking at, and it took a long time before I finally finished a sketch of the scene. I had lots of ideas, but I liked him so much, I didn’t want him to get hurt in the process of telling his story.
And, oh yeah, sorry. You’ll have to wait until I finish him in color to see how that turned out. I’ll post him after the digital paint dries.

www.hairyeyeballs.com

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The Hairy Eyeballs site is up and live!

Right now it has a few pertinent pages: an about page, a link to this blog, and a link to an online store that currently has no merchandise (I’ve kind of been trying to spend my time putting the actual book together). I also have an extras page, and on it I put a link to a page of illustrations from the book. Shortly, I’ll also add a page for one of the stories, but I’m still working on the logistics (you’ll understand when you see it).

I’ve also added an email address devoted to the site: nora@hairyeyeballs.com.

And you may have noticed the official Hairy Eyeballs emoticon at the beginning of this post. An explanation lurks on the home page of the new site, so I guess you’ll just have to go there to understand it.

Lots (and lots) of snow

It must be February.

Yesterday we got more snow in one snowfall than we’ve had in the last 17 years. The unofficial estimate in the backyard would be around 18 inches, but it snowed more after that.

Earlier this winter, we had a January that didn’t get above freezing until late in the month, so the snow we were getting just kept piling and piling. This is an image of our birdfeeder from that January stretch of weather.

Electronic kid’s illustration portfolio

I’ve put together an electronic portfolio on issuu.com (relatively easy!) to send out to those great publishers who are looking to go green (way to go!). Issue makes your pdf look like you’re flipping through a portfolio (or magazine) right there on your computer screen.

Testophobia

One of the first shorts I finished for the book was “Testophobia.” I wrote the piece originally for the Writing Fiction class I mentioned in the last post. The prompt went like this: “Write a scene taken straight from a science-fiction, fantasy, or horror story, where a character is experiencing test-taking anxiety of a very creative kind.” (Again, I’ll have to credit Dr. A with the prompt.)

The short was published once already in Seton Hill University’s art and literary magazine, Eye Contact. The graphic designer laying out the page kind of had the right idea, but the final results weren’t exactly what I had envisioned.

No problem.

The graphics I’ve created for the book version include a middle-grade exam I pieced together, some smeared and stretched typography (both digital and hand-drawn) and a photo I took of some dreamily threatening clouds.

This story became my favorite from all the shorts I had written through that semester, and I can’t think of anything I would want to change to make it better.