Summer Projects

Wednesday I posted a preview of all the fun ideas I've got floating around in my head for art and plushies. If anyone didn't read it, I would appreciate it if you would. I've got so many projects and sets I want to work on; I would love some feedback on anything that looks interesting to you--when it boils down to it, I draw what I like, but I'm always open to suggestions, recommendations or direction from others. So, anyways, onto today's topic. After the really crazy "list" from Wednesday, I thought I'd highlight what projects I'm actually planning on working on for the rest of June and July.

WIP photo of the new Aries

First up is the new Zodiacs. The new set will match the current set of Western Zodiacs.`What I'm going to be doing is drawing the companion character for the one I've already drawn. For example, yesterday I drew the new Aries; this one is a girl version designed to complement the guy version I drew with the first set. She'll have the same background, a similar color scheme, and some elements from the first version since they are supposed to be connected. I'll also be drawing chibi versions of these new Zodiacs for badges, just like I did for the first set. ^_^ I'm drawing the the new Zodiac set for a couple of reasons. For one, it's fun to design the characters for them. For another, some of the designs are going to appeal more to girls or guys, but not both--clear examples are Virgo and Leo for girls and Scorpio for guys. I always felt kind of bad for the guy Leos and Virgos that came up and were a little crestfallen that I'd drawn them as very feminine girls. So, this new set is partly to offer alternatives for those guys that don't want to be a southern belle (not that I blame them there). =P Anyways, this is what I will be drawing for the next few weeks--I'm hoping I'll get all 12 of the new Zodiacs finished along with their chibi counterparts by Otakon in late July, but that might be a bit optimistic. I think I can definitely get them done by Anime Weekend Atlanta--the end of September.

Since I'm a chronic multi-tasker (for better or for worse), I like having multiple projects going at the same time, so I'm also working on some crochet plushies. Since I'm getting ready for a bunch of conventions over the next couple of months, I'm working on building up my inventory of the plushie designs I've already finished: Pikachu, Umbreon, Kirby, Black Mokona, White Mokona, and Moogle. Although there are a lot of new designs I'd love to tackle, I'm trying to stay focused and keep things simple. (Yeah right... nothing's ever simple in my life). I'm making mini-amigurumi bunnies and kitties right now--why? Because I like cats, and I got the bunny idea from the Umbreons I made--I was thinking how cute it would be to have a bunny plushie since when I get the eyes and ears on (before the legs and tail and rings), it looks kind of like a bunny. I've been enjoying the chance to work with different colors of yarn that I don't really get to do with the fanart plushies. I've finished a "Peppermint Swirl" color theme, and I'm working on a pretty yellow right now. I think I'm going to give the yellow bunny blue eyes and the yellow kitty green eyes. =)

Mini-Bunnies and Mini-Kitties--the body for each is about 2" in diameter.