Happy Holidays from the Foster House!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Here is our holiday card for this year- I forgot to make it more Christmassy, but the fact I got it done in time this year is enough for me to #dropmike.

Jo's Crapbook: Episode 01 - Pinup Mermaid

Sometimes when I’m feeling overwhelmed by work, I need to get “a thing” done in order to feel productive.  I’ve been wanting to try my hand doing little process videos, so here is my first Crapbook episode where I just fail and fail and fail until I “meh” my way to something I kinda like.  Next one will bebetter!  Or not! The suspense! 

Almost Broke!

Last couple of weeks were a perfect storm of overlapping jobs, sick husband, and house and baby duty.  I’ve been catching up on my rest the past few days, but last week I almost broke!  Guys, you guys- it is so important to drink water, you guys.  Also, in case of emergency, there are places called "Hydration Stations" that can save your dehydrated butts. Just sayin'!  

Baby Vs. Pun'kin

Channel Frederator had a collaboration for Halloween that I had an idea for.  I was prepared to just shrug it off because (all together now, Class) I have no time anymore and just about every idea I have these days just goes in my "to do... someday" pile.  But then I thought I'd experiment and see how far I could get in just the day or so I had before the deadline, just for the heck of it!  This is really more of how I do animatics than animation, and I did end up having to discard a lot of my original ideas, but I am proud that I've got something done at last, even if it is craptasically rough.

Bride of Frankenstein

#BRIDEOFFRANKENSTEIN for @Sketch_Dailies and #inktober.  I seem to do one of these every year about this time.

Watercolor Practice Girlies

Oscar Oscar Oscar

Quick sketch of Oscar while watching #TheOddCouple.  I will never get tired of this movie.

Watery doodles

More watery attempts before bedtime.

Just Draw Better

I've been getting frustrated with my drawings lately (i.e. the past year or so...)  This runs through my head a lot.

More watercolor pencil practice.

Doodling with Watercolor Pencils

Penny Serenade at Steve's Live Music!

 I'm so excited we're playing this awesome venue I did some new art.

Secret Squirrel

Started a Sketch Dailies topic that kinda went "meh" on me.  

Max as NeoGotham Batgirl

Started this sketch a few weeks ago when SketchDailies had BatmanBeyond as a topic.  I alway loved Max and thought she was a great addition to Batman lore, and I wonder what they would have done with the character if the show had lasted longer.

Epcot Food & Wine Festival Spots: "Spicy Tears" and "Got Fuegoed"

Here are the spots that consumed my being this past July.  It was such a thrill to work under Eric Goldberg's supervision!  I really wish time permitted these to be done traditionally, but it was still so satisfying to work on these.  I hope I get to do more stuff like this in the future!

Thank you Eric Cerda​ for recommending me for the team!  And thank you Nate Foster for doing such a slick job in compositing, and also for doing extra Daddy-ing for Talia when I needed a few more hours to get things done.

Penny in the Park

Its time for Penny Serenade to swing in the park again!  Come on out and bring your dancing shoes.

Harlot Queen of 2014

As I mention from time to time, I belong to a fantastic group of hilarious and talented ladies known as "Davina & The Harlots."  We periodically put on cabaret performances that encompass comedy, music, and striptease and general jolly old-fashioned frivolity.  There was a Harlot pageant in 2014, and I had the great honor of winning the title of Harlot Queen!  The following year, everyone got very busy with weddings, babies, work, etc... and there was no pageant.  But we figured the title should be hereditary, so...

 We just had a fun little afternoon dress-up session!  Just had to share. :)

Cat Drinking Tea

I wanted to draw something for my friend Kat's birthday and my train of thought went here.  It is late so let's not question these things.

Thanks!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

BIRTHDAY PIE

My birthday gift to myself- staying up waaaay too late to make a silly, stuttering animated gift about birthday pie.  What is wrong with me??? Goodnight world- see you in four hours.

Fievel

Just a Sketch Dailies to end the night with.  Couldn't resist the topic- "American Tail" was a favorite movie of mine that always got me teary-eyed.  Been a few years since I've seen it- I wonder if it holds up!

Pegasus Sketch

Been sketching #pegasus for @Sketch_Dailies for days now- and this is the first one that doesn't look like a lizard.

Skimpy Harley Quinn

After seeing all the skimpy Harley cosplay at DragonCon these past few years, I really miss the more conservative psychopathic clown-girl.

Claire And The Keys... and DragonCon!

Five years ago, my friend and colleague John Brian Ludwick embarked on an ambitious short film about a plucky little girl and the power of music.  The film is "Claire & The Keys", and it is an incredibly lovely and endearing film.  Back in 2011/2012, I contributed some character development- here a some selects of Claire, her mom, and a few other characters.  I'm so honored to have been a small part of this production, and I'm thrilled to represent it at DragonCon tomorrow!  If you're at the con, give me a holler at the screening at 1pm.  And please "like" Claire on her FB page and be sure to catch the film when it screens at a festival near you!

Girl Head Ink

Just had to take a few minutes to play with a pen.

Still Trying to Warm Up

Am I warm yet?  Ungh.

I Love To Singa!

I love to singa!  Come hear Penny Serenade at Summer Shade Fest Saturday at 1pm on the Indie stage.

Little Wolf Girl

Sketches of a little wolf girl...

Sketch Dailies: Arctic Foxes

I keep getting caught in a trying-to-get-back-to-drawing loop.  I can't quite seem to make it out of the hole!  I tried an old Sketch Dailies topic, but after days of touching it in five minute increments- I'm calling it.

Chew on Sophie

Baby is teething.  Time for Sophie the Giraffe!

Crapbook: Warm ups

I've officially abandoning the "daily" part of my crapbooking.  Its hard enough trying to get warmed up without the compounded guilt of not drawing for days at a time...

Doodle for Penny Serenade

I'm finally coming out of my work haze, and its been hard getting back to the drawing board!  But I needed to promote my upcoming Penny Serenade shows so here's this now.

Time To Draw!

Its been a while since the planets aligned to the point where the baby was sleeping, I had finished my work quota, the milk had been pumped, and my eyeballs weren't threatening to fall out of my head from tiredness.  But I guess the excitement of having time to draw just made every idea I've had fly out of head.

Baby Energy

For the past few days, Talia has been so adorable.  She is happy and giggly and sweet, and she doesn't seem to need sleep!  We do though.

Rhyme and Reason

I always liked the characters Rhyme and Reason from "The Phantom Tollbooth"- its just a neat idea.  I loved the book and the Chuck Jones special, but there was something about the book's illustration that I really liked.  I thought I'd try marrying the two styles while I had a minute.

Dora Dear, Sweet Dora Dear

I missed last year's chance to participate in the GirlsDrawinGirls show at the Chuck Jones Gallery, so I was determined to do something for it this year. This is my submission that I had to stop working on because at a certain point if you're not feeling it, no amount of nudging will bring it around.  But it is done! YAY! Hopefully I'll have time to do another piece.

Nursing Clothes

I need to invest in more nursing clothes... Sometimes Baby won't wait for me to get ready.

Something Good...

Something good happened today...

Sketch Dailies: Pan

Super quick 'n' dirty sketch for today's SD topic.

Sketch Dailies: Meet The Artist

Between the baby, getting back to work, and having a boatload of ideas with no outlet, I’m all like- yeah.  I'm up waaaay past my bedtime now.  Might start hallucinating soon...

Crapbook: Ink Girl Head

No time for much drawing tonight, so just doodled around with some brushes I don't normally use.

Go Go Power Rangers

"Power Rangers" was a Sketch Dailies topic a while back, and I've had this image in my head ever since.  I never liked the show as a kid, but I might enjoy a club that had gogo dancers dressed like this...

High Waist Shorts

Playing with my Photoshop brushes again- boy they're dusty! Wanted to draw my new high waist shorts- such a godsend.  All of my pants are low-rise and they are not fun to wear with my post-partum mom belly.

More Ballet

Just messing around until the baby wakes up...

GirlsDrawinGirls: Ballet

Haven't done a pinup in a long time so I took inspiration from a GirlsDrawinGirls topic. I need to get faster at drawing- doing one drawing in five minute increments over two days isn't cutting it.