zandravandra

This Is the Run

When the going gets tough, you want Vinny Caravella in your corner.

http://www.giantbomb.com/videos/this-is-the-run-contra-part-09/2300-11844/

(This is a Giant Bomb Premium video so you might not have access to it if you're not a subscriber. It's pretty good though!)

2Jess

Here's my friend Jess drawn in the style of 2B from the upcoming Nier: Automata! I learned that 2B's blindfold was actually a visor, so it was only natural to adapt it visually to Jess's trademark cyberpunk shades.

This drawing was another attempt at me quickly sketching out a figure, and then erasing and redrawing parts of it until I had an outline I liked. It's a bit scruffy-looking in terms of line art, but it's so much faster than doing a "clean" redraw over the sketch, and I think the dif...

Meet The Artist

I drew this last week as #MeetTheArtist was going around! Since I'm always changing up the way I look, I felt I should do an animated gif to cycle through some of my favorites. Also if you wanted to know more about me, here you go!

(I got my age wrong though, I'm actually 36. Whoops.)

Star Wars Character Commission

I'm getting through commissions at a faster pace now! Here is a Star Wars: The Old Republic original character.

(Reminder that I am available for commissions if you want to get custom art! :D )

(Files will be up soonish, I'm dealing with system problems at the moment.)

Taylor

To practice some upcoming manga-style portraits, I drew my friend Taylor! Using references for help with proportions helps so much, turns out!

(Files will be in the usual folders tomorrow; I'm having system problems right now. Thanks for your patience!)

January 1st to January 14th

I hope the holidays were kind to you! Mine have been rather relaxing as a result of having lovely visit immediately followed by a week of AGDQ. I have been better about drawing more frequently, though, and I'm very happy about that. I seriously want to get better at digital painting, and I'm doing what I can to make it happen.

Exciting things are ahead, and I'm going to have to draw a whole lot in a short time soon, so I'm gearing up for that. Fingers crossed!

Also, in a few weeks I will...

Momodora

Here's what I drew during my latest art stream, a scene from Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight! I should be uploading the video soon - thanks for your patience. ^^

Files in the usual folders!

Distance

Another quick digital painting inspired by an MMO vista. The going is hard, but I keep getting a little better each time.

Files in their usual place!

A New Year of Art

Hey hi folks! I've become more diligent about drawing regularly, and I should become just as diligent in updating you all! Here's what I've been creating over the past few days; the high-res and work files have been deposited in the relevant folders as always.

I'm nowhere near where I want to be when it comes to digital painting, but I'm slowly making progress, and that's what counts. 💙

Perspective

I wanted to make my last pic of 2016 meaningful, so I made it about perspective. 

This is how I often see myself: making progress slowly but surely, holding something special - I just know it - but having a long way to go.  All the while, I'm constantly surrounded by exceptional people, reaching heights I can only dream of. It can feel crushing.  But it's so easy to forget all my accomplishments, all that led me here; it's so easy to only see the first half of the picture, and b...

December 18th to December 31st

Hey hi folks! It's been quite a couple weeks, and quite a year. I can't shake the feeling that, while this year has been amazing for my personal growth, my output hasn't fared the same. I drew so much more this year than the last - and I also made posters and comics and okay I actually did a lot - but I feel I didn't create enough tangible things.

To be fair, a comic is a big thing! But aside from that, it's mostly been one sticker and a game jam game. Though I shouldn't discount all the video...

Happy Holidays!

Two weeks ago, it suddenly struck me that gift-giving would be a little sparse this year, as I'm in a sticky financial situation. So I took a page out of my mom's book (she sends dozens and dozens of holiday cards each year) and decided to make my own! Showing a lot of different sides of me felt like an appropriate way to sum up the year, as this was when I fully embraced wigs and bows and all the fashion possibilities at my disposal - and there's still so much more out there!

Here's to this y...

Gnome!

I was inspired by Felix Kramer's adorable cat Gnome (of Gnome and Brisket fame) and I decided to draw her as an equally-bewildered person. It's been a year where I drew people as cats and cats as people, and I feel I've learned a lot from it!

This is also a pic where I experimented with thinner lines to get a closer feel to manga, and wow is it ever hard. This helped me reach past my Dunning-Krueger effect and realize how far I have to go, but I'm still motivated to get there. 💙

(File...

December 4th to December 17th

Hi folks! Special things are in the works, which you'll know about soon! I sadly didn't get to stream these past couple weeks due to engagements taking up all my time, but I'm eager to share what I've been working on!

I did the thing again where I said "oh hey I should do this" and then dumped a lot of work on my lap with little regard to my stamina. Result: I'm very tired, but also feeling accomplished. I'm hoping to adjust that balance in the future, as I've been entirely too adept at exhaus...

Lotte

Suddenly inspired, I drew my friend Lotte for her birthday. I'm working on getting a better setup so I can record videos of drawings; I'm close to doing a daily warmup sort of deal just so I can channel my efforts into one place and get better consistently. Still, I'm very pleased with how far I've gotten this year. ^^

(High-res and work files are in the respective folders!)

This Dungeon Is So Cool!

Hey hi folks! The #selfcarejam came and went, and in the nick of time I managed to make a game! A very positive dungeon drawler, This Dungeon Is So Cool tasks you with finding your partner in the underworld and conquering demons with love!

This game means a lot to me for many reasons, and I wrote up a postmortem about it. Here goes.

This game took me around 50 hours to make; a little more than a regular work week. I wasn't the most efficient but I worked on it every day. The theme was se...

November 20th to December 3rd

Hey hi folks! I... I think I'm getting back to some balance in my life.

Ever since burning out and going on medical leave earlier this year, I've been trying to re-learn how to relax and take care of myself. Traveling, losing my job, moving to the big city, doing freelance work... all of it led me to almost burn out again, but now I think I'm finally back.

For the past week I've been working on a game for #selfcarejam, and forcing myself to get up, work, and then STOP and take care of my...

This Dungeon Is So Cool!

This week is #selfcarejam, which has encouraged me to make a tiny game! It's the most positive dungeon crawler I could come up with, and I'm eager to finish it this weekend. Here's a sneak peek - I can't wait to show you when it's finished!

Extra Life Background Art

Hey hi folks! During my Extra Life stream, I tried my hand at drawing backgrounds (without line art), which is something that's always intimidated me a whole lot. But the little beach scene I drew made me so happy that I kept going. I've been very tired lately, but this gives me energy; I want to keep going. I want to get better at this. ❤

Extra Life 2016

Hey hi folks! My full 24 hour Extra Life stream has been uploaded to YouTube  - as usual, here's your secret early access link! I'll be releasing the videos individually on my channel soon.

Extra Life 2016: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPcIAxYdNwiOd34iw2iLNRnP561Pn_Cn1

Thanks again for your support! It means the world to me. ❤

November 6th to November 19th

Hey hi folks! My Extra Life stream has just ended and I'm thoroughly exhausted again. The past weeks have been extremely draining, despite being full of important positive times for me. I'm looking forward to sharing them over the coming days; for now, I wanted to thank you all again for your support. It means the world to me. ❤

See you soon; I have a lot to show you!

Extra Life Stream in 10 Hours!

Hey hi folks! Just a reminder that my 24 hour stream for Extra Life (benefiting children's hospitals) begins tomorrow morning, in about 10 hours. Please drop by and say hi - I'll be holding art commission raffles for people who donate $5 and above!

But if you just want to drop by and say hi, that's totally fine too - the goal is to chat, have fun, and spread some positivity through games and art. And it'd be harder without the help you've all given me so far. So... thanks again. ❤

Contrast

Hey hi folks. I'm still reeling from the events of Tuesday onward, but today I was inspired enough to start drawing again. Thanks for being there; please take care of yourselves and those close to you. ❤

Giant Bomb Extra Life Doodles

Hey hi folks! I watched some parts of this weekend's Giant Bomb Extra Life stream and was inspired (and prompted) to draw a few things, so I've added them to the relevant folders!

Experimenting with tones and manga effects in Clip Studio Pro have been really motivating. I need to figure out where I'm going with this style in the future!

October 23rd to November 5th

Hey hi folks! It's been another battle with exhaustion and I'm not sure what's going on with me, but I'm doing my best to take care of myself and get back into a place where I can work and create things. Baby steps! I've burned out twice this year, I want to do the whole working thing right this time.

More updates are coming, too! Inktober is over, so I'll be posting the last weeks of that, and I'll see if I can do something else with what I drew for that. I've also started my new Design Delve...

Tag Yourself, Little Witch Academia

(Hey hi I saw these character designs go by the other day and couldn't resist making a Tag Yourself pic out of them. >_> )

Alex Drums A Lot

Today Alex Navarro of Giant Bomb kicked off their Extra Life stream with 12 solid hours of Rock Band drumming and I had to immortalize that in some way (in addition to the way it'll be immortalized in video form, I mean).

(Shirt concept inspired from @metalband_exe, a terrific Twitter bot.)

Keep on rocking, fellow Alex.

(Files have been added to their respective folders!)

Art Stream!

Hey hi folks! Here's my latest archived art stream, where I dig into my past as a graphic designer and make a logo! I discuss a few of the principles I remember about that and show some tips and tricks with fonts!

Files have been added to their respective folders. As always, thank you so much for your support! ❤

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyHUz1mYmww

Extra Life!

Hey hi folks! I'll be participating in Extra Life again this year, playing games for 24 hours in one go for charity! Due to various scheduling conflicts, I'll be doing this on Saturday, November 19th, at 10 AM - so about two weeks from now! I've got what I hope to be a neat little program set up that should be entertaining! ^^

I'm raffling off commissions (along with the domain ownership of lang.zone... it's a long story) so expect more content from that front in the future!

(In the mean...

Design Delve: Sonic Retrospective

Hey hi folks! Here are the archived videos of my 2D Sonic Retrospective Design Delve series! It's been very interesting going back to these games from my childhood and looking at them now, and I hope you'll find it enjoyable to watch! I'm... I'm still sorry for getting so mad near the end.

The videos will be released publicly over the next couple of weeks, but you can see the whole thing right now if you want to! Here's the link (please don't spread it around, it's a secret):

2016-10-25 14:42:00 +0000 UTC View Post