The paradox of city life--being human-shaped islands while you drown in a sea of other people. i live in an island-city-country nicknamed "the little red dot" (at 700 sq. km, it'd be smaller than the dot used to demarcate it on a globe) and where about 80% of the almost 5 million residents live in highrises. People here generally keep to themselves; many don't even know their neighbours. It's always struck me as sad; like a library full of stories that've been forgotten before they've even been fully written. :/

Stacked
in
tins
of
glass
and
concrete

Packedlikesardinecity
We touch
but never meet--.


[Individually] [vaccuum] [packed] and
{hermetically sealed}

It's sad.

In fairytales, love is always enough. So Ned stopped believing in them after his mother died; because love hadn't been enough to make her stay.

Work's been kicking my ass, so i haven't kept up with the Stitchpunk/town/Nevernotwuz collab since sometime last week x.x It's just randomness, since that's how my brain works 8D; The characters are Pearl and Ned. Apologies for the eyesearing colours. My tiredness and the brightness of the colours used seem to be corelated.

Another 2006 pic. i used to colour better then e__e; The pic was inspired by a site of Venetian masks; RP addict that i was, i drew one of my charas one. Dragonflies symbolise illusions, so i thought it worked for a mask.

Reeeeeally rough sketch, inspired by the poem.

Another before-work sketch. Had wanted to try the fish-eye lens look; was surprisingly fun. The figure's veeeery vaguely a modern day Hermes/Mercury--hence the shopping bags, crossroads, and the reference in the title.

So... still not doing useful stuff yet, sorry >>; But there's a kitten! : D;

Sadly just a random sketchy thing; been too busy/tired to do anything outside work this month e_e Will get back to submitting actually useful things soonish. If anyone wants the .psd of any pic i've done, for easier remixing, feel free to ask. i usually keep them.

Been wanting to draw this for awhile, and finally got to it. And now to sleep 8D; i might regret this later in the morning.

Popping in from the office to post something i've done for work 8D Doodled it up for a presentation for an undergrad event that'll be held tomorrow. Sometimes work can be fun. i took off the context-specific text so it'd be more useful for possible remixing. Now back to doing another.

Just the character without the background, to make it easier to see/in case anyone wants to do anything with it, The head was inspired by plague doctor costumes.

These are so addictive. This popped into my head on the way to work. Random whimsy with a bit of a message or two, maybe? i actually imagine this as a stop-motion animation, something like a cartoony version of time-lapse photography of the night sky. Anyway, hope this amuses someone or makes them think a little, or maybe even both. Reuse, remix as you will. :)

Everything's better with kittens. Except hamburgers.

Dug out an old sketch (2006) that seemed to suit the dreamy themes here. If anyone wants to colour it, feel free :)

...i like puns. *hangs head* Marmalade (a breakfast spread 8D), Treacle Tart, and Sweet Creamed Corn. Inspired by a puntastic exchange with a friend a while back. The story in text form:

“Lookit ‘er,” Creamed Corn sneered. A flash of orange was seen through the crack in the pantry door. Marmalade. “That tart. I bet she spreads it for any hot knife.”

Treacle Tart frowned. “That remark is hurtful and very culturally insensitive.”

“Pfft. Go hang out with Yoghurt then. ‘e’s teeming with cultures.”

The offended tart sniffed. “You should be recalled. You may be corny, but you’re hardly sweet.”

(2005) Pulled from the eternally-a-WIP pile and slightly decrappified; never finished colouring this. The abandoned partially-coloured version can be seen here, if anyone's interested: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v23/aingeal/isilme_old_wip.jpg

Just a random sketch done before work, a while back.

An updated version of a sketchy thing that was to have been in an artbook a few friends and i had planned, but we didn't end up doing. Basically i added in the red (since it was originally black and white) and twitched the texture overlay with an image from hitRECord.

A very different take from the original. With 100% more pun content! |D;

A slightly different angle of Medusa, based on Ovid's version of the myth, where she'd once been human; maybe she still was inside.

Quick doodle to go with the Tiny Stories text.

Alternatively titled, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman. Edited my original illustration and added in the text. Explanation from the first RECord:
When I was around two, it was discovered that I have a form of congenital muscle weakness. Ordinary things that most people wouldn't even think about can be difficult to impossible for me. Getting up from the floor. Steps without rails. Carrying trays. Sitting cross-legged. I can still walk, but only very short distances, and with a stick or other support.

Still, I consider myself incredibly fortunate: I was born into a family that was able and willing to care for me, and in the Digital Age when so much can be done and experienced through computers. I don't live in a war-torn or resource-poor area, or worry about whether there'll be food tomorrow or where to sleep at night. So I'll never be normal. Life goes on; and so will I. :)

Not sure if this idea has already been written up, but anyway. i hardly draw on paper anymore, but when i do, this happens. At least i haven't tried hitting pause during a conversation... yet.

Also, i cannot draw hands. Ffff.

Another random character idea. 8D; i imagine her acting as a foil to Ned Needle, and possible love interest.
The arguably misnamed Pearl Button is the oldest of the Button brood. With twelve younger siblings, she had to learn to be self-sufficient at a young age. There’s little that’s delicate or feminine about her, although she is rather little herself, and she packs quite a literal punch, as a number of villagers have had occasion to discover through the years.

While growing up, Pearl often wished that she was more like her contemporary, the graceful Sasha Sequin; but after several failed makeovers that turned her more into a painted wooden duck than a graceful swan and no fairy godmothers being forthcoming, she has ruefully relinquished that particular dream and believes she has a bright future as a crazy old lady with a den of mechanical cats. For the moment though she fills the role of frequently dirtily-faced handywoman and general fixer-upper to the town (Pearl is good with her hands and often helps Charlotte Chalk bring her plans to life), as well as sibling-sheepdog.

She is somewhat (in)famously known for once threatening to clock Ned over the head with a clock during a town hall debate.

Old arts from April 2010. People who’ve known me for a while probably know that i’ve got a bit of a feminist streak. (For the record, i think the genders are different but equal, and deserve to be afforded equal respect. End of story.) Anyway, this was my small contribution to boobquake [http://www.blaghag.com/2010/04/in-name-of-science-i-offer-my-boobs.html]. A ridiculous statement [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-ml-iran-earthquakes-promiscuity,0,6333394.story] deserves to be mocked by an equally ridiculous movement. Styled after the vintage posters from the mid-20th Century.

Now back to being flattened by work.

Very quick pic done early this morning before work, for my colleague who had a baby yesterday. :) Reused the sky from the Stitchpunk pic (which itself remixed the clouds from the Phenomenon pic by Midori that i'd coloured), with some adjustments.

The other thing i drew for work today. Reused that sky again like a boss |D

For some reason i wanted to draw some of the cast as kids. Pearl's waving garlic in Ned's face because she thought he was a vampire. Pearl is so good at logic. i'm sure it made a great story later, though: -

Pearl: When I was in school, I thought one of my classmates was a vampire!
Random Kid: :O!! Were they?
Pearl: Unfortunately, no.
Ned: /Un/fortunately?
Pearl: *shrugs* I thought it would be neat to be able to turn into a bat and fly around.
Ned: ... *gives Pearl a “You are so. Weird.” look*
Kid: So what happened?
Pearl: He grew up to be the mayor.
Kid: ...
Ned: ...
Pearl: In my defence, you were very pale.
Ned: I was /anaemic/.
Pearl: So are vampires.
Ned: ...........
Pearl: --But don’t fret, I know you are not one now, so I won’t try to stake your heart, behead you, and burn your body while you’re asleep, or anything.
Ned: .....................
Pearl: You have no sense of humour.


...aaand i just noticed Pearl's hand is completely the wrong way around because i forgot to redraw it. Argh.

Sketched this a couple of months ago and forgot about it, oops. It amused me that some parts (the leaves and the boat; Alice's collar and the bushes; the band at the base of her collar and the gap between Rabbit's coat) line up precisely when the sketch is rotated 180 degrees. None of it was planned, but i'm glad it turned out like that. 8D The LC and DC refer to Lewis Carroll/Charles Dodgson.

She loved sunlight,
and open fields,
and tumbling
head-
over heels-
over head
like dandelion fluff,
beneath endless blue skies.

She was moonlight on a grey goose’s wing,
and a slumbering seed’s dream of spring.
She was in the heartbeat of wild things
and in the eyes of caged things
and in the light beyond an unlocked door.

She was Liberty;
and she is no more.

--------------
A quick colour of an old sketch. She's a character i made for a webcomic wheresmyway and i had planned to do together; she's meant to be a personification of the concept of Liberty. More retina-burning colours; you can tell i'm tired today 8D;

Proper one this time, for Mister moonbug :) Hope the colours turn out alright, because they tend to vary between computers. This version should be high res enough to print.

When i saw thehidingmushroom's lovely sketch, it made me think of the poem. So here's a remix of the two with some other stuff doodled in. 8D

A very rough concept sketch for Sasha. Bright colours = lame attempt to distract from boring clothes designs 8D;; Now you know.

Quick doodle since i can't record my voice. It'd be nice if Thanksgiving was celebrated internationally; the origins may be American, but the sentiment's universal. There's always something to be thankful for, it's just a matter of looking.

Fun fact: The document size follows the Golden Ratio (1:1.618) 8)