At Geek Girl Con 2012 Saturday

We went to Geek Girl Con today!

SmallRiniLady with another Captain America Crossplayer!

Doctor Who and the Tardis showed up, too!

We didn't get stuck in the Labyrinth...

 

SmallRiniLady snaped a photo with Rosie the Riveter

Oh Henson, how do we love your googly eyes on Red Fraggle

Family Love

Ok, not sure who she is (I have a feeling that Ava will be lecturing SmallRiniLady later), but she did an amazing job hand dying silk and inlaying mother of pearl into her accessories

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

must save her from the Nothing ....

...so we'll see you there tomorrow!
Join us for an Intro to Costuming and Cosplay in Room 204 at 12:30!

-Avalyn and SmallRiniLady

Drawing with a Wacom Tablet

I forgot to post this! It's been hanging out as a draft since 2011. Enjoy!

Drawing digital art in Photoshop using a Wacom tablet takes practice. First you have to calibrate your pen settings, then you have to learn how to draw all over again. And then you have to learn how to use Photoshop. It is so hard to get smooth lines! But practice makes perfect, right? So I'm practicing...

I made this drawing of my husband's Night Elf Druid character in the World of Warcraft. It started out as a pencil sketch, then I scanned it into my laptop, hooked up my Wacom tablet and started inking, digitally.

Then I started coloring... yeah. I'm no Mike Krahulik, that's for sure. But I think it still looks kinda cool.

If you recall my previous post about sketching, this was the pencil sketch I started with.

Character Sketches

Artists can only get better by practicing. One method to practice is to do at least one new sketch every day. Try out different styles, look at the work from your favorite artists and explore their techniques and incorporate them into your art as you try to discover your own style.

Here are some sketches I drew with the intention of inking and coloring them in Photoshop later.

This is a sketch I did of my husband's Night Elf Druid character in World of Warcraft. She is a healer and has full PVP (player-versus player) gear on with a book in one hand and a wicked-looking dagger in the other.

His account was inactive when I made this sketch so I used a picture from the Armory as reference for the details in the armor.

Originally this character was a Tauren male named Buttersprime...

This is an Elf Rogue of my own design, not a character from a game or book. Apparently she is a left-handed backstabber. This is another sketch I did with the intention of digitally inking and coloring it.

Here is a sketch I definitely intended to ink in Photoshop so I didn't try to make it detailed or fix lines; I am still not sure how I want to detail the clothing, and I would like to experiment with a more fierce expression.

She is based on Vin from the Mistborn Trilogy books by Brandon Sanderson.

Got Mana?

Do you ever find yourself OOM? Do you rely too much on friendly Druids who can spare an Innervate spell? THERE IS A SOLUTION!

Now you can make your own [Mana Potion].

For a magical Halloween display I illuminated the mana potion by placing a battery-powered LED light underneath it.

I cut the top off of a clear plastic cup and Mod Podged white tissue paper over it to create a diffusing shell that the LED sits within.

Never go Out Of Mana again!
Materials (for one mana potion):
1x [Yaley Gel Candle Wax]
1x [Yaley Candle Dye Block - Blue]
1x [Glass Vial] (with stopper)

1x [Piece of Gold Trim] (just enough to wrap around the rim)

* all of these items can be found at craft stores such as Michaels or JoAnns.

You will also need a small funnel, super glue, a small cooking pot, and access to a stove/burner.

Instructions:

1. Follow the directions on the Gel to heat it and add blue coloring. Keep adding more blue coloring until you get it dark enough.

2. Carefully pour the blue gel into your mana potion using a funnel (or make a funnel out of aluminum foil). Do not let it touch the sides because it will stick - you want it to fill up from the bottom.

* At this point we realized we did not have enough gel to fill the entire vial and decided that a half-filled vial would look stupid. So, after pouring in the gel, I rolled the vial around to cover all of the sides thoroughly to give the illusion that it was full. If I did this again I would make enough gel to fill the entire vial.
3. Tap to try and remove bubbles - do not stick anything in there because it will just add bubbles. Leave the vial alone and don't touch it until it has cooled and turned to a "solid" gel. If you move it at all, you will get bubbles or the gel will creep up and stick to the sides instead of settling correctly.
4. Add the stopper.

5. Attach the gold trim using super glue.

WARNING: Do not try to drink/eat/ingest this potion, it is just a PROP. If you want a drinkable mana potion, try water + blue food coloring.

EDIT: My husband demands credit for stealing this idea from WoWInsider.com. He did buy the materials and bring the project home. But I am pretty sure I did all of the gel-pouring myself. And added the gold braid detail, and made it light up. :)

WoW Priest Costume Completed

Whew! I managed to get this costume into a wearable state just in time for Halloween weekend.

A coworker was kind enough to send me a pic she took of me on Friday; hopefully I will get some clearer pictures (natural light, maybe?) later. And if you are wondering, that's my new hairdo, not a wig.

I already have some great ideas for tweaking this to make it better, but first I think I need to make a [Staff of Infinite Mysteries] - it would make a much better prop than a Diet Coke or a camera.

Costume Progress - WoW Priest 0.3

I spent all weekend working on the jacket.

I do need to adjust the position of a couple of hooks on the front closure, but that's it! The jacket is done!

Next up: the pauldrons a.k.a. shoulder-armor-thingies. And then I just need to do some detailing, then fix anything that could be done better (like the front of the belt).

And then I need to make the [Staff of Infinite Mysteries].

Costume Progress - WoW Priest 0.2

Project: World of Warcraft - Priest Tier 4 armor set from Karazhan

Completion Goal: Halloween 2010

The costume is coming right along nicely! To have a wearable costume ready by Halloween I just need to make the jacket (sleeves are already done!) and the pauldrons (the hard part!).

So far the pieces I have done are:

- helm (the big collar thing)
- belt & hip armor
- tunic (except for paint details)
- skirt (except for paint details)
- sleeves

Hip armor and side panels on the skirt with painted detail.

Belt with hip armor attached.

Painted detail on the belt

Sleeves for the jacket with painted details

Costume Progress - WoW Priest 0.1

Project: World of Warcraft - Priest Tier 4 armor set from Karazhan

Start Date: Sometime back in (Spring?) 2008 when Tier 4 Armor was common and Tier 5 was uber. (But Tier 5 Priest costumes have been done SO many times already!)

Original Goal: BlizzCon 2008

Realistic Goal: Halloween 2010

Why Tier 4? Because it's PURPLE ...in more ways than one! And because I played a priest and fondly recall the early days of conquering Karazhan one boss at a time with my wonderful guild <Retribution> a.k.a. <Negative Progression>.

2008 - the sorry state I left the costume in, before I got married. Notice the bridal bouquets scattered about. Wedding projects were more important at this point.

2008 - sleeves under construction

This time I am actually going to finish this project. Why? Because I have developed a Most Excellent Project Plan and Timeline!

Click for detail.

Over the last week I have already made a lot of progress! This time around I am going to finish it. Really, I am!

I aim to complete one piece each week, and that will give me three weeks before Halloween to complete finishing touches and details like footwear, hair and makeup. Wish me luck!

Seriously, by the time I finish this costume, Blizzard will be reusing the graphics for this armor set for Priest Tier 17.5 (if they haven't already!).

Into the Purple Woods

There is no place more magical than the forest home of the Night Elves, bathed in an aubergine haze beneath a giant tree.

Disclaimer: This was one of my first acrylic paintings, certainly my first landscape. I am totally cheap because I am using the paints you get for $0.89/tube at Michael's. Someday when my skill has improved I will invest in the nicer, more expensive acrylics.

I achieved a cool panoramic effect by using two square canvases side-by-side. Normally these are supposed to be positioned vertically on a skinny piece of wall between two doors.

I don't always do things the normal way.

I started with a screenshot of Teldrassil on my computer monitor and then painting the scene on the canvas beginning with the background and layering my way to the trees and rock in the foreground, trying different techniques in order to make it look like the representation on my monitor.

In case you happen to NOT be one of the millions who plays World of Warcraft and you are wondering "What the heck is Teldrassil?", I am happy to inform you that tTeldrassil is a setting in the game. You get to frolic in this purple forest for your first 8-to-10 levels, if you start the game as a Night Elf like I did the first time I played it. Actually, my first Night Elf character was a Rogue named Avalyn.

BTW Into the Woods is a really fun musical. If you ever get a chance to see it, go! I love the duet the princes sing, "Agony".