Snow Day...

Yup - Essex is snowbound, and me along with it! Never mind, at least I can work from home (provided the kids don't interrupt!)

Xara - things to watch out for...

The above image is called "RainyEyes", and in producing it, I found the following things to watch out for in Xara...

1. All line work should be on the same layer, especially if you plan on adding textures / transparencies to items that will be behind them (like skin...) - If you have to change the lines to accommodate, then do so...
2. Special Effect lines (like fur) May cause problems with (1). Transparency doesn't work, because the line style isn't kept - your best bet is to overlay with another line, on a higher layer.
3. Try to get your sketch as accurate as possible - although you can change the lines later, you'll have less work to do if the initial sketch is better.
4. PSD export at 300 dpi is the best option when exporting for editing in other programs.
5. If you plan on breaking lines to simulate penmanship, remember to set your line ends to round ends - also consider setting your corners to bevel.
   

Sweetie

Sweetie Pie - a mixture of Xara & Gimp.

The Garage - Coloured

Coloured version of the image in this post.

Jennifer

Not sure which one I prefer...
Hand drawn, then vectored in Xara.

Jennifer and Sweetie

Two very quick sketches today - the poses are based on photos, but the cartooning is all mine. I'm more pleased with Jennifer (the top one), but I that's because I've got the head wrong in "Sweetie" - perhaps I'll do the inks in Xara, and see if I can't improve them a bit (the head needs to be smaller...).

Angry...!

I'm so bloody angry with myself. For the last two days, I've been doing some pinup cartoons, and I made the same mistake that I always make - I try and make them too realistic. Whenever I do that, I get frustrated, because I can't seem to get the picture right, and it's because I'm trying to copy the picture I'm taking the pose from, rather than use it to draw my own.

I wouldn't mind, but it's the same mistake I keep making time after time. it's SO BLOODY ANNOYING!!!!

Tomorrow, I will do better...