So one of the big changes that happened over the last two months was the purchase of a Wacom 24″ Cintiq.
I previously had a Huion 22″, which I’ve gotten great use out of for the past 5-6 years, but I finally decided to invest in the upgrade. And I love it so far, but haven’t really gotten the chance to explore. There definitely is an adjustment period. For starters, its much higher resolution, and much bigger and far more sturdy. I also purchased the ergo stand with it, so I can adjust/tilt/rotate as I feel. Which also works because it has double duty as my main work-from-home monitor.
It also comes with this handy little remote control for quick keys. Now I just have to figure out the most efficient way to program them to speed up my work. But the nicest feature is the stylus that I no longer have to charge the battery. So nice.
What I’m Drawing Cont’d
Another addition to the X-Ladies group, with Mystique. I think this will be the last addition too. 6 is a good round number for the group. Balances well. Now I just need to work on the background and overall character placement to fit a background. And then colour. I got quite the backlog of things to colour now. I should probably stop drawing new stuff for a bit and actually finish stuff. Like Harley Quinn, Angela, and this group. Better get started.
Plus I have another Stranger Than Friendship comic queued up. Plus reading comics, plus playing video games. There’s just a lot of hobbies, not enough time.
Has it nearly been 2 months already? Time is a fine sand, that slips through my fingers. It’s not even contained in a box, it’s just on the wind. Invisible.
What I’m saying is I don’t know where the time goes. Yesterday is a blur. But I do have two small kids and they keep me very busy, which might explain some of it. I crash at the end of the day. BSOD, and start fresh the next morning.
That’s not to say that I haven’t accomplished anything. I have lots of stuff to share. So much that I will spread it out throughout the week as a multi-day update, instead of overloading one single post.
So I’m thinking:
Monday – What I’m Drawing (May Sketch a Day) Tuesday – What I’m Drawing Con’t Wednesday – What I’m Reading Thursday – What I’m Playing Friday – What I’m Playing Con’t & Thoughts on the Xbox Showcase
What I’m Drawing
In May, I started a challenge called May Sketch a Day. Trying to draw something every day. I set a rule for myself to try and limit these to 1 hour. Some I went a little bit over. The 1 hour rule was to prevent burnout. As I mentioned above I have two small kids and work a full time day job, which leaves me some time in the evening after bedtimes, but not a lot, and I’m bad with sitting down to draw at 9PM, and then going till 2AM without standing up, and then realize it’s the middle of the week and have to wake up soon. Hence the rule.
I actually made it half way through the month uninterrupted, but then life got in the way. I managed a few more, then more life, and by then the streak was broken and my interest in the challenge faded.
Overall I’m proud of myself. With my art I can get hyper-focused and need everything to be perfect. So part of the goal was to let the drawings go, maybe incomplete, or a bit rough, after the 1hr, and not grind my teeth over it.
I’ll create a gallery for the drawings below when I find the time. Tomorrow I’ll show some of the other work I working on, plus show off my new drawing tool :D.
Dr. Steven StrangeHan SoloAshoka TanoBoba FettBlack WidowScarlett WitchRavenGambitBatgirlTomb Raider Lara CroftThe RiddlerLet Me Solo Her (Elden Ring)Baby DollLady DeadpoolIron SpiderBilly Butcher (The Boys)She-HulkPunchline
I took some time off after Easter as a mental break, but also as a cleaning break. Spring Cleaning I guess? But also I haven’t really had any real breaks from work since last summer. So some time off was overdue.
Plus, the boys were about to start up again in daycare / pre-school. The wife ready to go back to work. Easter was already a four-day long weekend, so I tacked on the week after as holidays. Cleaned the house, cleaned the garage. It was cathartic in a way, but ended up not being a relaxing time off at all. But I didn’t turn the computer on a single time, so that was one positive.
Which means I didn’t draw. I actually hadn’t done any drawing since I finished the last Stranger Than Friendship comic. Which tends to happen for some reason. They take a toll on me creatively more than my other art projects. Plus, obviously, the screen break plays a role. Which got me thinking about getting back into physical art again, and not relying solely on the computer. So I’ve bought myself a toy to try out. Deliver me my Huion LED Lightbox!:
I did some research and its one of the better reviewed options available. And it’s portable. Which is good because I don’t have any spare room on my computer desk.
I think I’ll still do my layouts/sketches on the computer, and then print it out and lightbox it for Pencils, Inks, Watercolour, etc. We’ll see how it goes.
I’ve always had this nagging feeling that I wanted to do my wrestling comic traditionally with pencil and ink, and then just scan for colour and the rest. So now I can give that a go.
// What I’m Drawing
I did a quick cartoon drawing that I’ve had in the back of my head for a while, ever since watching the movie Luca:
Luca is a Disney movie about a fish boy who travels to land. When he’s above water he’s in human form, but underwater he’s more of an underwater mermaid boy. Obviously being a Disney property, he’s a very cartoony character design. But, I always thought it would be funny to do a darker, Tim Burton-ish version. More of a sea monster type.
So I drew this up quick last night and I think this will be my jump-back-into-physical-art attempt. I’ll print the sketch, lightbox the pencil onto watercolour paper, and then finish as a watercolour.
I should have a finished product by my next update, and hopefully keep it from my 3yo toddler who enjoys the movie. Wouldn’t want to spoil that for him…
Besides that I have a few projects cooking:
X-Ladies group shot: adding Magik and 1970s Mystique to the group, and then colour
Angela – colour
Harley Quinn
Finish Goblin Queen
And a few projects simmering in my head:
Let Me Solo Her (Elven Ring community player 😉 )
Deadpool
Scarlet Witch (hopefully before the movie comes out)
Boba Fett
Also I have the next Stranger Than Friendship webcomic idea, revolving around the popular game Wordle. I actually collaborated with a friend on this one. My idea/plot, but he volunteered to do the script.
// What I’m Playing
Knee deep in Halo Infinite. Half way through the campaign on Legendary; having just finished Mission 8 – Pelican Down and the 2 bosses. I’ve also been grinding through the collectibles as well, so it’s slow going. So far the campaign has been a lot of fun, feels like I’m at the part where its starting to really shine, and has an enjoyable story thus far.
Next week Season 2 of the multiplayer kicks off, so I’ll also be playing around in that. Trying out the new maps and modes, and the new Battle Pass.
In co-op, I’ve been playing Sea of Thieves – Pirates of the Caribbean Adventure. And also Grounded. Slowly expanding our base out a bit and exploring/completing objectives/crafting. We recently finished the Jungle Lab and stumbled across a might scary Spider Tunnel:
At home, my wife has volunteered me as the bug killer/catcher, so I wouldn’t say I’m afraid of spiders or bugs in general. But in-game, regardless of the game, I have a few phobias: Being underwater (very stressful / claustrophobic), and real world creatures, that are bigger than me, in-game. Like the Spiders in Grounded. Especially the Wolf Spiders. They’re just mean. Anyways, this spider web nest was creepy as hell and I was not interested in sticking around.
// What I’m Reading
Week of April 13th
Nocterra #9
King Spawn #9
Batman/Catwoman #11
Batgirls #5
Week of April 20th
Batman: The Knight #4
Blue & Gold #8
Catwoman: lonely City #3
Hulk #6
The Nice House on the Lake #8
The Walking Dead Deluxe #37
//
I think that wraps up the last few weeks. Stay safe.
It’s been minute since my last blog post. 60480 to be exact. Where has the time gone?
It started with just a break. And then I started writing a game review for Watch Dogs Legion, my first actual game review 2017. Sure, I’ve done my Reviews Done Quickly every year since then, but those are just bloated paragraphs, tackling 25 games at once. Not needing much thought.
Attempting an actual review was much more daunting. And I plugged away at it, but hours turned into days turned into weeks. I pressured myself to finish the review by abstaining from writing blog posts. And suddenly 4 weeks had gone by.
It felt good to stretch those muscles again. And I’ve wrapped up a few games over the past while so maybe I’ll attempt another. We finished Far Cry New Dawn, so I could write one up for that. And the wife and I are nearly done It Takes Two – so there’s another option. I mean they’re not called Idle Reviews for nothing. This page was never going to have reviews for current games ;). But games released 1-3 years ago, that’s more my pace.
So, what’d I miss?
Well… I did some drawing. I played some games. I read some comics. I actually made another webcomic over at Stranger Than Friendship. First one of 2022, and actually first one in 6 months. Idle Comics is the name of the game.
Whoa!
Right?
Well, lets get started shall we?
//
What I’m Drawing
Spider-Gwen:
Gwen Rider? Ghost Spider? Spider Rider? What would you call her? I drew another Gwen Stacy variation. I know...you have an obsession…blah blah blah. I got some motivation after seeing some Ghost Rider art and thought it would make an interesting addition to the gallery. I’m not 100% happy with the design. Need to tweaks, but its good enough. It’s a worthy addition.
Angela / Spawn
Angela has been in my queue for a bit and I am super happy with how this one turned out and I’m excited to colour it. Very much stylized after the Capullo covers from the Spawn comics. So no background – just Angela. If the colour turns out how I imagine it, this will be the next poster.
Moxxi:
This was actually a drawing from 2020. My plan was then to colour in 2021 for Drawtober 2021 but ran out of time. So I finally did colour it. Working off some of the rust, as my “to be coloured” pile is growing.
//
What I’m Playing
I am happy to report that I finally started the Halo Campaign after finishing Watch Dogs Legion. Attempting on Legendary difficulty, and it’s been a slow grind, but for what it is, it’s been fun. It feels very different from other Halo games, with the transition to an open-world design (semi open world, I don’t even know if its considered open enough to be open world). It feels and plays a bit different. But its a nice change.
I’ve also been spending some time within Shredders, which is a fun indie snowboarding game with awful, terribly dialogue and voice acting. Just cringey-bad. In co-op we’ve been playing in the Grounded – Game Preview as the game supports achievements now. I played this early on when it first released in game preview like a year ago, but it’s definitely expanded.
And actually jumped into Sea of Thieves for a few hours to try out the Pirates of the Caribbean addition. Yup, nothing really worth mentioning, other than the game still looks gorgeous.
//
That pretty much catches you up happenings around here. I wont even get started on the comic reading queue. I’ll just start fresh next week, instead of listing 6 weeks worth. Head over to the Stranger Than Friendship page to see the new comic, and then come back here next week for more games and art.
Let’s start this week’s chapter off with Halo, because why not?
I finished Halo MP. Well the Season 1 Battle Pass. 70 hrs played, 335 matchmaking games. Now it’s time for a break. Until May. 60 more days. I can do that right?
And here’s my two armour sets. Pretty snazzy.
//
What I’m Playing
So with Halo MP on the backburner, Watch Dogs Legion goes into first place in the queue. The PLAN was to then move onto Halo Campaign and Cyberpunk 2077 until May. But, but, but… Game Pass Breaking News!! Guardians of the Galaxy is coming to Game Pass March 10th. This game has been high on my list but I just couldn’t buy it full price. Now I don’t have to. So this will jump the queue right behind Watch Dogs. So I’ll have to try and wrap up that in the next 10 days. Which might be a little difficult because…
//
What I’m Drawing
I’ve been busy drawing. Which isn’t abnormal, but with my limited evening hours I can only accomplish so much.
I really don’t know what sparked the idea to do another Harley Quinn. Especially the Roller Derby variant.
Anyways, it’s still a work-in-progress. Tighten up the fishnets a bit. Tweak the face/eyes. Currently she looks little sleepy, and Harley is anything but.
I have an idea for the background, with her in the roller derby arena, and some of her fellow villains looking on. Joker, Ivy, maybe Croc and Catwoman.
//
What I’m Reading
Batman Vs Bigby #6
The Human Target #5
BRZRKR #7
DC Vs. Vampires #5
The Department of Truth #16
Gunslinger Spawn #5
Blue and Gold #6
Snow Angels V 1 TP
Sweet Tooth Compendium
Also, its my Mangaversary. Last year I started listening to the Mangasplaining Podcast with Chip Zdarsky which got me into reading Manga for the first time.
1 year later I have 35 books, and I’ve read most of them. It’s enjoyable, and different in a good way from Western Comics, however I have slowed down on my collection due to my ongoing comics budget, as it is quite high. There are a few books I am interested in following through on, though. Just on hold for now.
Idly Playing the Waiting Game 