itsudemo darekaga kitto soba ni iru


I inked this piece tonight and broadcast part of it live on UStream. I’m sorry there wasn’t any warning; it was a last-minute decision and a test to see what broadcasting was like. When I try it again I will give you some warning in case you want to catch it live! :)

Of course, you can follow me on Twitter for the most up-to-the-second updates about things like this. :P

I don’t have a simple answer

Here’s a test page (read: no rulers) from The Second Witch of Wilheim:

It is a slow, steady march toward inking with a brush comfortably.

This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco

Poooooll tiiiiime!!

Please answer in comments or sidebar poll: Which do you like better–brush or nib inking?


(nib left, brush right)


(nib top, brush bottom)

Just for me, the church bells rang

Here’s a preview of the cover for my senior thesis comic, tentatively titled The Second Witch of Wilheim. If all goes according to plan, this will be a self-contained 100-150 comic to accompany a research paper on comics’ societal influence, and cover my thesis requirement to graduate from the UO honors college (due this coming May). I am very excited about the story and some of the things I’ll get to draw. Action, magic, animals, old houses, and environments, ganbarimasu!
I’ve been using brushes more and more to ink this year, and think I’m finally ready to try a serious, full-length story like SWW with them. It’ll be challenging for sure, but I really like the feel of brush lineart opposed to nibs or pens.
A nice alternative to using a brush is the brush pen, which Emi swears by and encouraged me to try. I finally bought a Pentel brush pen and tested it out by branding a new sketchbook:
I really like it! I want to try drawing more with it. :)

Butter me up, I’m on a roll!

The toaster people are ready~~ 8D

When/in what form they’ll be available TBD. And since I know you’re all curious what I would look like as one:

The most evident utensil is none other than a pencil

Got a lot further on those chibis last night–now they are all inked and waiting for watercolor:


I hope that adding color adds to rather than subtracts from them. I kind of like them as is, but I’m going to color them anyway. Onward! Manifest color destiny!

I am also working on character designs for a very exciting project I’ll announce soon. It’s challenging, but I do enjoy a good challenge. :P

Aachgh, Evident Utensil by Chairlift is SO GOOD!! Don’t get the music video at all, but the song has been on repeat on my laptop for about a week 8D;

Housing for next year drama continues; school is also wringing out the last stress it can from me in these final days before moving home. Emily is throwing a party tonight in our apartment, and I would be a horrible person to skip it, but I’m starting to feel a little claustrophobic in my evasive/stressed-out state. I’ll try not to think about the library as I’m playing Pass The Pigs, haha.

You sit in the quad, and think, "Oh my God! I am totally gonna go far!"


Quad Couple preview
Originally uploaded by tallychyck

No innuendo intended :P

New painting, “Quad Couple” up on Flickr and available for purchase on E-Bay.

If you didn’t notice boy you meant everything


Nick’s Birthday_ink
Originally uploaded by tallychyck

I’ve been playing around with brush inking this month, and have decided on a new project to help me learn: I’m going to attempt to recreate 5-20 of my favorite old photos with waterproof ink and brushes, and then watercolor them. Ideally, this will help me learn 4 things I could use practice on (anatomy, environments, brush inking, and watercolor), and be a very fun time, too! Who doesn’t love reliving happy old moments?

This recreation is from a photo of my little brother Nick’s 10th birthday, with my little little brother Neil making a great face (Are they not adorable??):

Oh hey, third benefit I just thought of: I’ll be ahead on Christmas presents!! xD;

Cut my hair, grew it long, played my song, and I watched the sun

Did I say that my Rosemary & Co. brushes came? They came! They are gorgeous and finely crafted gifts from the old country! I have attempted to ink with them, but the pictures kind of suck so far, so I am not in a hurry to go scan them.

I got a $40 American Apparel gift card a couple of months ago, but I didn’t spend it until yesterday. I went into their store on 3 separate occasions, intending to spend the card, and walked out thinking, “I…just hate their clothes! I can’t spend money here!” Even when it wasn’t my money, I couldn’t bear the thought of paying $20 for a $4 T-shirt. In the end, though, that’s what I did, twice over. It was the only cut in the store that didn’t cling or hang in an unflattering shape. I have to admit, they are very comfy shirts. I think American Apparel is just a very expensive basics store, and in order to build a decent wardrobe you need to infuse their overpriced t-shirts with personality from many other stores. Yes, supporting the American economy! No, trying to make plain cotton cool.

I think that everyone is slightly OCD about something. I have a friend who only gets out of bed when her clock reads a time ending in a ’0′ or ’5′. For me, it’s stepping on the last stair of a flight with my right foot, stemming from a game where I tried to give my right foot more points than my left foot (lmao). I try to count stairs as I go down flights and figure out if I’m on track for my right foot to hit the last one, or if I should double-step to get ready. It’s gotten better as I get older, but it was so bad at one point that I had to go back to the top of the stairs and try again if I messed up! I think we cling to little oddities like that, though, because they’re nostalgic and because the weirder they are, the more we can be sure they’re unique to us.

Feet are really hard to draw. D:

Blog Every Day April: 28

Inked a page completely with a brush today, which is a new landmark for me. I also lettered it myself, which I never do. I do see the difference in its “organic”ness, but it is much messier than my other work, and likely will remain so through many more of these practice pages. I’m really happy with how well it turned out, though! No crisis or huge mess-ups, and I already have some control over line weight. I think that inking with pens and nibs has taught me to see how I want my lines to look before drawing them, know where they need to be heavy, etc., and all I need to do now is learn how to make similar lines with this new tool.

We watched the first half of Turtles Can Fly today in disabilities class today. I’ll be held in suspension until we finish it on Thursday. :-/ I’m worried about those kids…

Copyright © Natalie Nourigat
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