So, i'm still sick. I think i'm going to have to spend the week in bed. Sorry folks! I wish I could party. I do. But I have to stay here and look damn sexy in my baggy pajamas. Rrrrrrrr.

Good news today, Namesake is officially a year old. It's not doing quite as well as I would have hoped, but the updates go well, we seem to have a stable readership that goes up a bit every month and I still love doing it. So all and all, generally a success!

Other good news, the "Monster in Paris" soundtrack is available on the North American itunes. You have to type in the French name ("Un Monstre à Paris") to find it, but it's fun and includes the English songs. I can't wait to see this movie. I plan to go with a couple of the girls from the bookstore. :D

In... neutral news, one of my balcony chairs is pregnant. With a family of squirrels. We left the cushions on the chairs for too long, so a group of squirrels decided to dig inside of one to make a nest. We brought the undamaged cushion in and kinda let them have the other one for the winter. It's already ruined anyways. And it's kinda cute. There's babies and they stick their heads out for tiny holes. We'll probably take care of them a bit (remove the snow from the chair and such). It kinda sucks that they did that since the cushion was really comfortable and the chairs matched and they won't anymore if we buy another one... But...heh. Such is life. Sometimes stuff goes well, and other times, a squirrel eats your chairs.

Last and not least, you guys should check out this college humor video ichiban_victory sent me while we were having a discussion about inappropriate female fantasy gear. Aka, nothing to protect those very vital vital organs.

Still working on commissions. I finished this one for snapdragon!




That is all.

- Isa

 I saw Kung Fu Panda 2 yesterday. It was fun! The animation quality was amazing. Really play up the kung fu movie classics and there's some amazing action scenes. The characters are still a ton of fun. And plushy. So much plushy. I'm also deeply in love with Tigress. Tigress. TIGRESSSSSSS!!! The story itself was pretty okay to good. Just like HTTYD, it's kinda predictable, but in a good way. It doesn't really feel like a second part. It kinda just feels like a took a long break watching a single movie. So that a good thing. 

The message of the story, that the present is what matters and that you basically shape your own future, no matter what your past is, was pretty cool. And well timed for me. Kung Fu Panda is speaking to me? Well played movie, well played. I need some changes in my life. And i'm currently working to make them happen. And Kung fu will help me, apparently. :D

Also, I need to take a second to talk about the colors in this movie. This movie was incredible on that point. so many beautiful colors and designs. Gaaah.

I also realized that almost all my favorite animated women are in the Dreamworks movies. 



LAYDAYS. Rapunzel is also part of them though. And so will most likely be Merida, from the upcoming "Brave" Pixar flick. Did you guys see the first images? She looks fierce. It's a shame the female director working on the movie had to leave the project.... So sad.

Oh, you probably noticed up there with the ladies : Loki and Darcy from the Thor movie. Thanks, paynesgrey , I ship is now.  Did Loki even have a chick in the original comics? I know there's two Thor experts on my f-list. SPEAK UP!

I'm totally babbling right now. Dammit sangria. What are you doing to me? I went to grab lunch with a group of friends to say goodbye to a pal going out of the country for a couple of months. There was booze. I drank it. I'm sleepy now.

HAVE SOME WONDERLAND DOODLES. KAPOW!





- Isa

So, I found a neat new pen brand to try out. It's basically a calligraphie pen, but instead of dipping it in an inkpot, it has a cartridge in it and comes in several sizes (my favorite being ultra-thin). In a way, using a cartridge pen is kinda lazy and expensive for no reason I guess, but I love how practical it is. I can carry these a lot easier then an ink pot. So far, the results are pretty good! So I might buy other sizes.

I drew Agha, the munchkin character from Namesake and Aang and Katara with it. Everything is adorable and classy. I'm kinda amused that Agha is so popular with the readers. I was kinda expecting people to find her annoying, but she's loved! Which makes me feel pretty good. I love "small" characters like her, munchkins, dwarves, hobbits... I'm sad they are often used as comic relief. I loved versions of dwarves that were as rocking and fantastic as elves. They deserve so much more love. I think I might actually draw a whole bunch of dwarves this week! :D

Did you guys heard about the Hobbit movie in preparation? There's BOUND to be some cool dwarves in that one. There's 12 of them!

I'm taking it easy this week. My health still seems a bit... iffy. My body feels overtired. But i'm still in good spirits. I'm going to try to make a bit of an update cushion for Namesake and work on my super-special-secret project. I can't wait to tell you guys about that one!

Oh, in June, I'm thinking of, for the second time ever, opening commissions. Try to see what I get out of it. Maybe nobody will want anything. First time I tried I got like... one. All money made with said commissions would be going to fuel the Namesake ads all over the internet. Anywho, we'll see. I,m not opening the commissions before then because the super-secret project is taking all over my time.

I have other super-secret awesome news... But i'm keeping it under wraps... until the next post!

...........I kinda screwed up Aang a bit. It's because of the new pen, I tell you!

Oh, it's rare but... MEME TIME! I actually like this one :

Meme taken from EVERYWHERE.

Name a character from one of my fandoms, and I will reply saying:
* How I FEEEEEL about this character
* All the people I ship romantically with this character
* My non-romantic OTP for this character
* My unpopular opinion about this character
* One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

 


This post is going to be a mix-match pile of stuff methinks. 

First off, my boyfriend is really awesome. I,m glad I have him around. He'll be doing all the coloring and shading for "Namesake" until i'm done with "Jabberwocky". This helps a lot. It's a good 6 hours of work I don't have to do every week. Yay! Plus i'm not very good at it so...

I found an amusing drawing on the internet showing how to create an icecream cake. I want to make this so bad. As soon as I have more free time, you bet this is happening! (Original art by the French Toast Girl). I love ice cream cakes. This one is like... custom. I should use soft sunday ice cream though. And maybe mix the cookie crumbs directly in it.... YUM.



For a lactose intolerant girl, I sure like eating them forbidden things.



Oh, and awesomeness - The studio behind the Gorgeous film "Secret of Kells" is working on a new movie called "The song of the sea". This movie seems inspired by fairy tales such as the "Mermaid Wife" or "The Seal woman". It's fairy tales similar to the "Feather dress" in the sense that it is about a fantastic being that sues a piece of cloth to change fro her magical form to a human form and that she is bound to a man who hides the cloth. Sometimes, the wife is truly in love. Other times, she is a prisoner. This type of tales are amazing, and i'm sure this animated film will be as well. I can't wait. 

Click here to watch the teaser trailer. Yes. You want to.

On this side, Jabberwocky is going well. Only 10 or so pages left, if I include all the extra drawings. Heck yeah.

As soon as Jabberwocky is done, I have a few commissions to work on (mostly, wedding invites for a few people). Then some storyboard work and some more comic work... I'm really busy but I love it. Though, as soon as Jabberwocky is over, i'll be able to put a bit more of my free time on the social side. The other projects aren't quite as insane. 

Drawing is awesome.

- Isa

 Today I had a day off! As mentioned before, for the whole month of March, I took all Fridays off to work on Jabberwocky. So Today, I got up, prepared my stuff for the Geekfest convention that starts tomorrow and drew. While I was drawing, I decided to watch the "My little pony : Friendship is magic" series that yamiloo , earthstar_moon  and many others recommended. 



Damn. I kinda like it. 

I like the designs, I like the animation, I like the voice acting. Kinda like Samurai Jack, Tinkerbell, Avatar or Kim Possible, it's a kid's show that is quite watchable for adults. It was born from the imagination of Lauren Faust, who in addition of being a talented artist is deal model of what a female animator should be. She was also the animator of Sawyer on "Cats don't Dance". 



So yeah... I guess as I blast thru the episodes i'll have to think up of excuses to allow me to admit publicly that I like girly things and children's animation... Oh no, wait. guess that was already out in the open! Dodged a bullet there!

But seriously, it is a good show. It's the type of thing that I would buy on Dvd so that if ever have kids, they can watch it and instead of being annoyed by a bad, low-quality show, i'll be able to watch it with them and enjoy it. At least for the first 10 viewings or so. 

The show is all on youtube (for now), so check it out!

Oh, and have some centaur-rified versions of the ponies. I could not help myself. The only reason why these aren't inked and colored is Jabberwocky.



I've loved centaurs since I was a kid. When I was a kid, I even drew a study about a centaur transfert student (from Greece, of course) and his many adventures with his Canadian friends. Yeah, I was a dork that way.

Anyways!

PONIES!

Okay, back to work for me.

- Isa

Animated features should unite....to beat Harry Potter!

As said yesterday, i'm going to be gone all weekend. I probably won't get to check Lj posts. So, if you can't reach me all weekend, that's why! don't do anything interesting without me (like taking over the internet!)

Oddly enough, one Deviant art again (and here) my art got compared to Dr Seuss once more. I really need to go check out Dr Seuss' books. I mean, i've seen the "Grinch" animated movie, which is kinda like Seuss' style but I don't see a resemblance. Maybe i'll see it more when I check out he books?

In other news - Link finally got an interview for a position in a video game company! I'm also applying to positions in other video game companies for 2D artists. Wish us luck. I'm making a tiny portfolio on "carbonmade" for the occasion.

Oh gosh, I watched the Nostalgia critic's two videos on top 11 Christmas specials (so 22 films, really). I got hit by such a wave of Nostalgia. Man! Some of my favorites were "Frosty the Snowman" and the Muppet's Christmas carol and Garfield's Christmas movie. The critic had also included South Park's "Critters Christmas". That made me laughs. That's a South Park episode I never tired of.

Yeah, I watch South Park. It's one of my guilty pleasures! I didn't actually like the show in it's first 5 seasons (when it relied on toilet humor). Nowadays, it's more of a social critique geared at mocking society and offending pretty much every social group in existence. It's cruel, rude satirical fun. I know a lot of you aren't into shows like that. But I really like this one. I'm really amused by the latest storyline with the kids dressing up as superheroes. That was hilarious!

Gark. I posted almost everyday this week. Yet, I drew no comics, neither for Namesake or here. I really gotta concentrate on comic-making. I'm such a fickle artist. Boooooo.

- Isa

 Okay. MEGAMIND REVIEW!

The non spoilery part :

Well, I loved it. I feel this movie exists in the same unvierse as The Incredibles, Dr. Horrible and Despicable me. It's not the best movie of the yeah, but it has a nice mix of humor. It's a storyline similar to the Incredibles (in the sense that it subverts then confirms and plays with various superhero tropes) but with a bit more goofyness. The goofyness mostly comes from Megamind himself who is flamboyant and fun and has what I think is the BEST ANIMATED SMILE EVER. His smile is adorable and hilarious and wonderfully natural. Plus I have a thing for goody-two-shoe villains, i'm quite happy. So yeah. Good movie. I don't think it tops How to Train your Dragon, but it's still in the same vein. Most of the humor is based on wacky body movement and language and witty dialog. So I had fun.

Also, good god, so much leather.

The movie had an interesting storyline, but it wasn't unpredictable. Like Megamind himself, it's good old predictable villainery. However, the different twists and turn to get to the classical points in the movie that are interesting. It's kinda like the movie is a weird baseball game. They hit all the usual bases, but they do wacky and intricate backflips instead of running to one or another in a straight line. The way the story is told is really interesting too. Basically, you kinda expect where the movie is going, but the ride to get there is the original part. And I find that often makes the best stories. Familiar yet twisty.

My favorite part is how they decided to open with the ending. Very interesting storytelling choice.

And now for mild spoilers and spoiler-ish art :

( Mild spoilers. Read if you've seen it, or if you're going like... tomorrow )





Oh. Stay after the animated credits. Little spoof visible there.

And I must say : teen Megamind is the cutest thing ever. End of story. 

And the music is by Hans Zimmer, so officially chock full of epic.

ALSO "BAD TO THE BONE" PLAYS. This had me rolling in my seat, laughing.
- Isa

 

Namesake Image! This is the color cover for chapter 2 (see, I told you guys I was ahead). 

Lately i've been drawing while watching Disney movies. I re-watched "The rescuers down under" and watched for the first time Tinkerbell's Movie. I had never seen that movie, and didn't really want to that much, since it looked more kiddish then normal Disneys. Turns out, it was okay. It was really kiddish, but I have to admit I loved the opening sequence (aside for the cheesy narration) where Tink was born. I was a little bugged by the fact that Tink could speak (it violates Peter Pan's original story) but I liked the fact that fairies had a specific ability. Then I had to get over the fact that Tink had Katara's voice and that Glinda was another one of the fairies. Though the whole Katara thing gives the parts where Tink is manipulating water a fun new dimension. The fairy friends are okay. I found them kinda funny, aside from the stupid Tinkers WHO TRY TOO HARD TO BE FUNNY. Tinkerbell turns out to be the fairy of Lost Things. I kinda liked that. I was amused that, at the end of the movie, she returns a toy to a little girl called Wendy. Well, if it's the same Wendy that meets Peter Pan, it's kinda ironic that the little girl that first inspired Tinkerbell will be the future target of her hatred. 

In any case, cute movie. Definitely watchable. But also REALLY aimed at kids. A good thing to watch while doing something else or if you have kids.

Rescuers was still as awesome as I remembered. GIANT. EAGLE.

My parents came by yesterday to visit and bring a brand new drawing table. The Ottawa university just gutted my mom's department. A good bit of furniture was gotten rid of, including a giant drawing/light table. My parents saved the table from a faith in the trash. So now I have a 30-year table who is in great shape! I think nobody was using it. Not since the internet lets people print stuff rather then trace it for presentations (It's the children's education department). We then ate a restaurant and they left.

Today my friend Sandra. We went on a quest for screws (to fix the chair of the drawing table), ate food, drew a bunch and watched "Secret of Kells". By the by, Secret of Kells is a magnificent European chidren's animation. All of you who love animation, please rent it. It's...amazing. The storyline is a bit harder to follow (it's not built like an american movie), but it's amazing none the less. Don't believe me? Check it out. 

*laughs* All I talk about is drawing, animated movies and food! Shows you guys what I do as of late. I'm busy, yet not busy at the same time. It's a little odd. But I think this weekend showed that I should go out more.

- Isa

 As promised to snapdragon76  and lycorne , my next nostalgia-themed fanart is Rainbow Brite.



( MORE COLORFUL CAST )

I tried to keep the characters in their original hair and costumes instead of "updating". I learned quickly everyone had "Toph" hair (think she invented the hair ball? THINK AGAIN). This is basically all the color kids, plus Rainbow Brite, Krys, Moonglow, Stormy, Brian, Baby Brite (who turns in the Sphere of Light), Starlite the horse and On-X the robot...horse.

Everyone kinda always forgets about poor Brian, the human who was given a key allowing him to visit and see Rainbow Brite. You know, I always though it was amusing when a male character was given a magical key in old tv shows. Especially to go visit a girl. My mind always went the way of the dirty metaphor. I'm sorry.

If you're looking for a good place to refresh your memory about the characters and the episodes, be sure to check it out here :  http://www.rainbowbrite.net/

This took a long time. didn't really work on much else because of this, but I've been feeling sick since Friday morning. And relaxing drawings are good to keep me occupied without killing of my energy levels.
Hey, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is coming out soon! This movie's trailer is composed mostly of epic shots of epically flying owls in epic armor. But I haven't heard much about it. Does anyone know how the reviews are? I mean, aside from people going "ooooh, shiny!"

- Isa