WIP Wednesday - 2017 - Volume 16

More amigurumi this week. It will probably be beyond the first of the year before I have this set and their tags ready, but I'm taking a short break from that series to make some special holiday plushies. They will be available in white, red, dark green, and green/red/white variegated with tinsel, as well as a combination of related colors. The cats and bunnies will have either red, green, white, or black eyes. My problem is that there is so many combinations and choices that I'm not sure how to put together the listings for these. I think I'll be grouping them by color type -- like single color (not variegated), two colors (not variegated), single color variegated, and two color variegated. The variegated is separate from the plain colors because that yarn costs more. But yeah. So I'm working on a set of samples to photograph for each combination. Unfortunately at this stage, I don't have much to photograph, and what I do have I left at home and I'm at work right now. Oops. So, no pictures this week, but this is what I'm working on. =)

WIP Wednesday - 2017 - Volume 12

This week's WIP is a little more on my crochet amigurumi plushies. I have part of a blue calico fox finished--only one ear, and it's not completely attached yet. XD

I'm working on some art to go with the plushies. The finished art will go on tags that will be packaged with the plushie. Here are some sketches I have for the kitties. Right now, I'm trying to decide between styles--more detailed or go simple. I kind of like both. I will probably finish and color these and see how they look before deciding. I may also try drawing some of the other animals in both styles as well because what works for the cats may or may not work for the bunnies and foxes as well--or any of the other animals I'm planning on making.

WIP Wednesday - 2017 - Volume 8

This week, I'm sharing some pictures of some crochet amigurumi plushies I've been working on. I'm working on some badge tags to go with them, too. These are similar to the ones I've made in the past, except I've cleaned up the patterns, and instead of just using scrap yarn from around my craft room, I'm picking a specific brand of yarn with lots of color options, so I can keep things consistent to go with the tags. Pictured this week is a Kitty and part of a Bunny. I'm working on redesigning the bunny tail so I'm not using the little poof balls anymore. Those were cute and fuzzy, but they're a pain to find in my area, and the colors don't necessarily go with what I want to use with the yarn, so... working on alternatives. You can see what I've come up with below. I'm debating on a small tail, which is more proportionate, or a larger tail more the size of what I had with the poofs. I'm also loving the colored eyes eye I got to experiment with this time around. Will definitely want to order more of those. Anyways, pictures were taken at work at about 2am, so lighting is meh at best. =P

Bunny

Bunny with larger tail

Bunny with smaller tail

Kitty

Will be a blue calico Kitty

WIP - Vol. 35

 It's been a while since I have been able to post anything here. I just got back from Anime USA and that is my last scheduled convention for the year. I will be at Magfest the first weekend of January 2013, which I still consider part of the 2012 convention season, but I will not have a table there--I'm on the wait list, but I'm not expecting anything to come from that. I've applied for an Indie Game table to promote the Anime RPG book (which we should have out as an e-book by then) and a new card game we are currently working on--more info on that to come. ;)

So anyways, this blog is just an over view of what I've finished since I got back from AUSA this past Monday. The top 2 pics feature a fox mini-plush I finished earlier this evening. I based its design off of one I made at Anime USA--it was in mocha colors but it sold within 15 minutes of finishing it, so I didn't get a picture of it. I don't usually make duplicates of the mini-plushies, but I might have to for that one. I really liked that color combination. I will probably be posting this on Etsy in the next week, so keep an eye out for it. ^_^

The next two pics are sketches for a cosplay idea I have for Magfest. I want to make a girl version of Link from Legend of Zelda (that's Rule 63 or something like that right? - I fail at keeping up with the interwebs). I want to take elements of Zelda, like the hair-style, to make it a little more girlish while still keeping the feel from the game. I'm using the Twilight Princess design since that's the one I'm currently most familiar with. It should be fun though; I'm looking forward to putting this cosplay together.

The last pic at the bottom is the first sketch (rough plus it's a bad picture, and I'm sorry for that) for the Firefly bookmark set I've been threatening to make for a while. I'm happy to say it's finally been started, and I'm hoping to have done in the next few weeks.

Works in Progress No. 2, Vol. 7

There's a lot to post here this week. First up, I've finished 4 of the new Zodiacs, which is really just the second half of the original set. You can see both versions here of Aquarius, Gemini, Capricorn, and Leo. After that, I have updates to 5 more Zodiacs. Libra has been inked. Pisces is nearly finished; he just needs a background. Sagittarius has been drawn, inked and flat colored. Scorpio has been drawn and inked. Taurus has been drawn, inked, and flat colored. It's been a busy week. I'm hoping that the rest of the print zodiacs here will be finished by my WIP for next week. Finally, I finished the purple kitty mini-plushie. Pikachu is almost finished; I just need to make his red cheeks and sew on his mouth. Lastly, I've started a black kitty mini-plushie. I'm going to give it orange eyes for a Halloween theme. I'm considering making an orange kitty mini-plushie with black ears, tail, and eyes to go with the one I'm working on right now.

 

Works in Progress No. 3, Vol 6.

Wow. I can't believe I've actually been keeping this blog up for 6 months now. It really feels like I just started it. I've only missed a couple of posts in that time. I'm encouraged. If I can keep this up, maybe I do have a chance at keeping a webcomic going--my husband and I have been wanting to run a webcomic centered around the characters for the Archetype set. I've been holding off because I want to make sure that once I start I keep up with it consistently, and with all the moving and crazy stuff going on, I've felt like it's not exactly been the best time to start a webcomic.

But anyways, this is the Wednesday WIP post--yes, I know it's Saturday. XD This past week has been an adventure. Tuesday we spent with my in-laws because my husband had a faculty conference he had to be at for work Tuesday and Wednesday that was near where they live. Then, Wednesday afternoon, we drove to Black Mountain. Black Mountain is probably the most awesome place in the whole world to me. I grew up there, and going back there really reminded me how much I really love the mountains. After the long day of driving, we opted to pass out early and I watched Tangled instead of posting my blog. (Tangled is awesome; go watch it if you haven't.) Thursday was the day of my brother's wedding and we spent that with family and catching up with old friends I haven't seen in years. Friday morning I went shopping with my mom for fabric for Suzaku and Euphemia at Carolina Fabric Outlet--this place is absolutely amazing for fabric. They don't have everything, but what they do have is good quality and well priced. So, I thought I might post when I got home last night. Clearly that didn't happen. XD But, I'm posting it now, so, yah!

Since we've been out of town most of the last week or so, I haven't gotten a whole lot done, but there has been progress. Let's start with art. Squall and She Ra are completely finished. I finished the Capricorn and Aquarius sketches posted last week. They're nice and clean and ready to be inked. I've also started on sketches for the new Pisces and Gemini. I've included pictures for Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. I've got a design I like in my head for Gemini, but so far there's nothing more than scribbles on paper, so no Gemini this week since as far as I know there isn't a way to photograph something that's inside my head. =P This week, I'll be working on more Zodiacs and the card back for the Anime Tarot Deck.

There's not a whole lot new in the world of crochet. The mini-Garden-Bunny I was working on is almost finished--he's missing his button eyes and little cotton tail. I've also started a Pikachu since I need to restock my plushies from Otakon.

We've also got a new product in the works. My husband and I wanted to try something that was more of a collaboration between the two of us. We, of course, collaborate on a lot of the art sets you see on my site since I do the art and he does all the writing, but we wanted something where we had to work together a little more. What we've come up with is decorative props. We liked the throwing knives my husband made for my Mai cosplay, so we're going to make similar throwing knives that I will then paint with pretty designs on them. I've included a photo of the rough sketch for the first design we're going to try and make. This week I hope to get this first design finished, plus I want to see some more concrete work finished on the Suzaku and Euphemia costumes (considering AWA is now 6 weeks away and counting).

Aquarius

Capricorn

Pisces

First Decorative Prop Design

It's a Pikachu, for realz.

Garden Bunny - almost done

First WIP Post for August

I've only been home from Otakon for a couple of days now, and a lot of that time has been spent unpacking and trying to organize things in the Garner house--remember how I posted a couple weeks ago that we have to keep this house so clean that it looks like no one actually lives here. @_@ That said, I still managed to find some time to get some work done on projects for AWA--we had to make an unplanned trip to Misenheimer yesterday to tie up some loose ends, and my husband offered to drive for the whole trip so I could work on some stuff. I took a ball of yarn and a sketch pad, and I got started on a new mini-plushie and some of the new Zodiacs. I also finished a few plushies at Otakon, so there has been progress. =D It feels nice to be able to say that after several weeks of doing nothing but packing and cleaning.

First up, at Otakon, I finished 2 Kitty and 1 Bunny mini-plushies. The gray kitty with the dark brown ears and tail sold almost as soon as I put it on the table--I almost didn't put it out; I designed it to look like our new kitten Kisa, and I didn't really want to let go of that one. I'll have to make another one for myself. The in-progress one I started during the car ride yesterday reminds me of zucchini and squash.

Here are 2 sketches for commissions from Otakon. I got the sketches finished at the con; I'll be inking them starting this afternoon--spending most of the last 2 days in the car has made it hard to do any work requiring a computer. =P The first one is for a custom "What Would ___ Do?" character--this one is going to be What Would Squall Do? from Final Fantasy VIII. The other is a commission for She-Ra; that one made me exceptionally happy. I loved that show when I was younger, and I have many fond memories of it.

Lastly, I finished 2 new sketches for the next Zodiac set--actually I have 3 but I'm scrapping the 3rd one. =P It was an attempt at drawing a male version of Libra... let's just say it was horrific and leave it at that. I'm currently trying to burn the memory of it out of my head. So, the 2 I'm showing here are girl versions for Aquarius and Capricorn. The coloring will match the guy versions. Generally I'm pretty pleased with how they're coming out so far--I still need to clean up the sketches a bit and make some adjustments to proportion and such, but design-wise, I'm happy.

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.