The Importance of Rest

Hi guys, this originally started as another resource post on Anime Expo but then I realized I’m out of time! The movers are coming this afternoon and forcibly taking the computer away from me. Since I don’t have a laptop or even a smart phone, blogging will be on hiatus in the next month or so.

I really, really wanted to have something go up during my move but unfortunately, I seem to have run myself ragged. The past few months have been a non-stop ride through publishing Polterguys Vol. 1 and I confess I honestly have not spent that much time resting from all of it.

I suspect I will benefit from this mandatory period away from the computer and the internet as I visit family in the Bay Area and in neighboring states. Inspiration and energy after all needs replenishing.

Thanks so much for understanding and the next time I update here, I’ll be in Michigan!

Polterguys Vol. 1 is now on Amazon

Polterguys Vol 1 on Amazon

Polterguys is now available to purchase through Amazon as well as my personal Storenvy shop. (Yeyyy!) Please note that I won’t be handling/shipping books purchased through Amazon so they won’t be signed/sketched if you buy from there.

I shipped out my first batch of Kickstarter books the other day and have been hard at work signing/sketching even more. You can see a bunch of my favorite doodles here on tumblr. (I wish I could say I was consistently funny on every one but alas!)

My cousin’s wife also sent along this awesome pic of Vol. 1 on her Kindle. (Sorry, I know! I get excited over the smallest things. )

I’ll also be getting the 4×6 and 8.5×11 prints very soon. Here’s a preview my printer friend sent me! I ran out of bubble mailers yesterday because we accidentally bought teensy ones (D’oh) but we’re hoping the new batch comes in right along with the prints so they’ll go out sometime this week. I will be out of my apartment by this Friday so I’m hoping everything goes fairly smoothly.

Resources: Character Design

These are a few links I’ve compiled on character design. More to come as I find them!

Skullgirls: Big Shapes vs Small Details

Aaron Diaz – Figures: They Speak for Themselves

Aging Characters Cedarseed’s Guide to Aging Characters
Model Sheets 101 via Character Design Notes blog
Part 1
Part 2
Disney Model Sheet References

Clothes —-
Using Costume to Tell a Story
Clothes and Folds via Character Design Notes
Period Fashions Library
Shoomlah’s Historical Costume Resources
OldRags Tumblr

Polterguys Kickstarter Wrap-up + Goodreads Giveaway

It’s over and what a month it’s been.

I wish I had more time to write up how much this campaign means to me, N and our project. I really do. But right now, I confess we are running into a more pressing deadline – getting all our possessions boxed up for the movers to evaluate and provide us quotes. As you may be aware, I’m moving to Michigan and the timing is just insane.

I’ll be doing my best to provide updates on other things besides Kickstarter but the truth is 80% of my time is dedicated to moving concerns so I hope you understand and thanks for your patience. I probably can’t provide much updates until next week.

The Problem with How To Draw Manga Books

Back when I lived in the Philippines, I remember discovering my first How to Draw Manga books. They were tucked in the arts section of my local bookstore next to the books on painting and architecture. I recall getting quite excited because I just discovered chinese-translated manga and wanted to learn how to make my own comics.

But even then, I knew they wouldn’t be able to help me completely. I didn’t like the house “style” they employed and preferred to use my own. I felt no need to learn how to draw manga eyes, face or hair the way they prescribe because I observed from watching countless anime, they were all drawn differently any way. Why would I want to draw what everyone else is drawing? I wanted to learn cool stuff like how to draw backgrounds or fighting poses and bought the corresponding books in the series for that. But you know what? I never did actually learn much from them.