Rabbit Town Art

Hi!  Well I took a break from working on freelance yesterday and decided to spend my break drawing out in the rain and cold.  I was drawing the Pepper Cafe from across the street on the train ramp.  It's a good spot from there to draw Peppers. 

I love the Pepper Cafe.  They have great staff, it has a good atmosphere, lovely food (gotta try their Creme Brulee and their corn cakes...very nice and they make good coffee too).  Plus, they like my art!  I want to display a set of Urban Sketches there soon.   When I worked from home, I would go to the cafe to get out of the house while getting work done.  Once I stayed there for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea time.  I got a lot of work done but I did spend quite a bit of money for food and drink.  Still, it's good fun to draw outside of home, probably why Urban Sketching appeals to me a lot.

I really like Flemington.  I like how it's convenient amenities wise, lots of places to eat and drink, buy presents and I get to display…

Hi! Two more birdies have flown to a new home today.  My friend Leisl bought Silver Eye and the Yellow Tufted Honey Eater!  Hurray!  Quite a few birds have flown away from this exhibition.  People love the Ladies I drew too but some are too expensive for a few people. All good.  I will see who is left over and hold an online auction for some of the pieces.  See who would like to buy them.  The next set I would like to exhibit will all be Urban Sketching pieces.  Just the best ones. 

I wish I could sketch freely in Flemington but there are really too many crazy people in this area.  I'll have to go quite early in the morning when most of the riff raff are still asleep to draw some of the buildings I really would like to draw around here.  I'll reveal what i drew today tomorrow!

For other new, I finished the major freelance gig and it's not even midnight yet!  Very pleased.  It will be all about the Bunny e-book this week though.  Am hoping I can finish it by next week.  Af…

Here we are!  It was so cold today and so busy around the Swanston Street area where we were drawing.  A small group today though.  Smaller than normal.  It was a lot of fun though and I met a fellow illustrator/animator today.  Sometimes I am reminded on how small the world, especially the animation world, is.

An odd thing happened though, an Asian man took a close up shot of my piece.  I didn't mind until i started thinking that my piece might end up on a Tote bag or T-shirts or something.  That said, doesn't matter!  Seeing that I have to spread my work on the internet to stay in the folio game, am sure something has been stolen already. 

I had to cut Urban Sketching short today though, that's why I don't have more than one piece.  Had to go home and work for that deadline on Monday.  Am looking forward to having a small breather.

I believe I put up a few of the work in progress shots of this piece while I was working on it in January.  Major deadline on Monday is keeping me from doing my own sketches but regardless of what happens I am still going to go Urban Sketching tomorrow.  I need to chill out a lil bit before working all hours afterwards.  In the city tomorrow so the location is very convenient!  I am hoping to draw the RMIT building tomorrow.

I have to remember to move during Urban Sketching tomorrow because I creaked my neck in the last sketch meet for staying still for so long, I had to see an Osteo for it and I'll be seeing a sports masseuse next week too.  Just to make sure everything else is in good shape, and lets face it, a shoulder massage wouldn't go astray.

Hi.  One of my pieces from an exhibition I did earlier this year.  This was one of my last pieces and it almost didn't make it because I made a mistake with the lips but managed to fix it.  I had a friend that was supporting me and encouraging me not to give up on this at the time.  I would have ripped it otherwise which would have been a great shame.  She's available as a t-shirt too.  Click here!

Now for other news.... I sold this piece!  Am not sure when but I only found out today that it sold!
Very pleased with that.  I hope the Spinifex pidgeons are in a good home now.

Well...back to it.  I have a major deadline on Monday and I need to get back to the bunny book shortly after.

Some photos I found with me in it from last weeks Urban Sketching efforts.  I really did enjoy sketching at Mailing Road in Canterbury.  I really want to go there again.  So many cool shops to explore which I didn't get a chance to since I was too busy drawing.  When I get into the drawing zone, I pretty much stay in the drawing zone.

On another note, I really enjoy having blue green hair.  For starters, am really easy to spot in photos and I get complimented on it once a week at least.  It's good fun and it's become a trademark.  I think most of the Urban Sketchers know me by my hair alone.  It's pretty funny.  Am the green/blue haired one that's good with markers.  There are worse things to be known by.  Besides, it's nice to be easily recognized.  I think I will stick to the blue/green hair for a while yet!  My doctor, accountant and parents have been the only ones that don't agree with the hair, so far.....however I like it.  So it stays until am bored…

Hi!  Another job I did aaaages ago!  I had to create Steampunk designs of a list of objects.  Here's a pair.  Really busy, tax time is coming, am running around trying to save.  It's madness all around I must admit.  To many things to do and sort out!

Some bath tub designs I came up with a few years ago for a job.  Too busy at the moment to draw anything for fun except for Urban Sketching.

Am really tired and I've had headaches coming and going since yesterday, so am afraid I might actually have to sleep early tonight....

Last page of the cat-ebook am putting up!  You'll have to wait till it's released and hopefully the clients will tell me when it is released.  A very busy and social weekend which was great but am feeling woefully behind work and I need to get on with it!

I was in Canterbury yesterday with the rest of the Urban Sketchers and we were sketching around the Mailing Road.  Great place.  So many nice little boutique and antique shops.  A beautiful area.  If I could afford to move there I would.    I didn't even get to wander and shop around like I thought I would.  I just wanted to get some sketches in.  It was raining so I had to make sure where I drew had a roof.  I actually spelt MALING room as MAILING room yesterday too and had to fix that.  Oops!

I had a great time yesterday and I will go back on my own time.  I want to check out the antique shop this time and just look through the shops. 

Working on pages for my bunny e-book tonight.  I have one more page to clean up!  Though it may be two as am thinking I might need to re-do the first page since it doesn't look as good anymore.  The style was still developing I guess!

Urban sketching and watching stuff at the Melbourne International Animation Festival tomorrow!  It should be a good day off.

Hi! I always colour on site but I wasn't able to this time for this building and I was hoping to colour it this week but I just haven't had the time.  I've been so busy with freelance and full-time work.  Been a bit on the mental side.  Now, I wasn't able to finish this one, simply because it really was starting to get way too cold and dark and I was drawing on the sidewalk, right next to the road and colouring on a sidewalk next to a busy road, really isn't ideal (that said, I have done it before).  This one posed a lot of problems for me and I made quite a few mistakes (you can actually see it if you compare the drawing to the building in the photo) and stairs...drawing that without any support was mental! 

Anyway, am looking forward to Urban Sketching once again this Saturday.  Am hoping that if the weather isn't kind, I can find shelter and still have a good view of an interesting building.

This was the last page I submitted to the client and she said it was her favourite one out of the lot, so here it is!  Hand drawn and inked then composited and coloured in Photoshop.

It has been a rather hectic few weeks and it's not slowing down just yet!  That said, bed time now.  I need some energy to get through this week...

Here are some of my animation frames for a project that was submitted last week.  It's called Youth Focus and was for Zac Creative.  Was good fun to work on.  I had to do a lot of frame by frame effects and I really was pretty happy with the ripple I did at the end.  Perhaps once the project has been released, I will be able to put some of the animation on a new animation reel.  Really do need to get around to cutting a new one and gathering footage, ASAP.  Just another thing to add on the list it would seem.

Sleeping early tonight, need to recharge.  After one more thing!

Background 01 timelapse from Marta Tesoro on Vimeo.

Hi!  Check out the first time I took a video of myself working on a commission job!  It was rather difficult just trying to set up the camera on my own.  Getting used to it and whatnot.  Am going to try again tonight with some new work!  Hopefully it works!

I have been so flat out for a few days now with deadline after deadline.  I finally got all the immediate deadlines due but I am going to be flat out until mid-July, with the really insane work needing to be done by end of June.  Am tired, but I seem to be running on some sort of stress filled adrenalin high.  I am under a lot of pressure though....hopefully nothing explodes.

Anyway, these are some of the roughs I was working on and submitted to the client tonight for feedback and then I will start cleaning them up this week.  Fingers Crossed it's all approved.....

Was so cold today!!!!  Why can't it be sunny when am out sketching??!?  Why?!?!  That said, it was really nice to be outdoors and away from the computer for a good few hours.  It's nice to be able to draw my own thing once in a while.  Anyhow, I've got to draw the Parliament Building next time.  There's just  so many nice places in Melbourne to draw.  If I get a week or two off once my contract is done, am going to spend most of my days sketching all over the city and maybe even venture out into the country like Bendigo (which is suppose to be amazing for old buildings) and I would love to go and spend a few days in Daylesford to draw and explore the area too.  So many things I want to do and not enough time immediately to do it all.

I've been working around the clock lately.  A lot of stuff is due this month and I think it's because of tax time.  I really wish I could clone myself sometimes.

My cat e-book job is done!!!  Woo hoo!!  The client was really happy too.  This was all hand draw and inked, then some Photoshop magic.  I like doing hand drawn stuff and then making it look better in Photoshop.  I draw faster traditionally than digitally anyway.  Besides, it's nice to get away from the computer screen once in a while.

I also finished an animation deadline as well.  Yay!  Unfortunately I have 4 other things due on Monday so am working around the clock....except for tonight and most of tomorrow.  I am Urban sketching tomorrow and spending some time with friends and I am sleeping in!  I have to go to work on Sunday which is rather unfortunate.  Doing double jobs at work at the moment and both are due Monday.  Of course.  I have freelance stuff due Monday too.  Of course.  In fact, I think my week ends as soon as Monday does, given how everything is due on Monday!

It never fails.  I will have nothing or I will have everything and the deadline will all be the same.  …

An old illustration.  One of my bunny give-aways earlier this year for sharing my facebook page.  I don't get to draw anything that's my own until the weekend...nowadays.  Am just really busy right now.  Super flat out busy.  It's great but it does get tiring.  I need to go to bed and recuperate after this.  Very tired.

Hi!  Been working on my e-book (the bunny one) today and Sunday....doing this amongst a lot of other things of course.  Anyway, what I tend to do is to send the rough to the client and if they like it, I clean up the line work using a light box and just winging it, really since I don't exactly trace.

I feel like am overloading a bit but it's still a good feeling.  Anyhoo, I need to get onto this other job am trying to get done tonight!

Am just chipping away.  It was a public holiday today but I had to go into work and smash it...so to speak.  Not much I can do as am doing another project on top of my quota at the studio tomorrow.  That project is still under wraps so no details for that!  I had to submit some illustration work tonight too for two different e-book and am now working on my educational gig.  I probably have one more hour before bed.  I need to sleep early enough so I don't die at training tomorrow.

For other new, I blew a fuse at my place around midnight last night.  It was only certain electrical ports around the house, mostly the computer room.  I must have been using too much power with the heaters being on.  Tsk, tsk.  Oops.  Really should not have done that.  I now need to find the proper fuse wire though so that I have a spare.  Incase it happens again.

So tired.  Having goals...so much work needs to be done to be even close to attaining them.

Here I am, drawing on location today.  I left home really early so that I can draw something oN Chapel before meeting a friend in the afternoon to visit another fried who has been home all week because he had his tonsils removed.  Sounds like one of the most horrific pains you can feel.  I never want to go through that experience.

Working again tonight and working tomorrow, despite it being a public holiday.  Don't have much of a choice unfortunately.  Trying to get everything done is quite tough.  My house chores are pretty neglected.  Am on top of laundry but my vacuuming and tidying up is rather abysmal

Hello!  Despite having a huge workload, I decided to take a bit of time off today by Urban Sketching on my own.  No group today as most of the group are taking the long weekend.  Lucky.  I am doing no such thing.  Too much to do!  I did need to chill though.  Saturday is my day for sketching.  If I can fit it on a Sunday, I do!  I have a lot of areas on my list to draw.  I love being with the group but I do enjoy sketching on my own too.  There is one thing I learned though, drawing earlier in the morning is better than later.  Less people for starters and that helps when am trying to find a good spot to draw.  I was on uneven terrain trying to draw the library.  I actually want another crack at it on a better spot next time.  The sun just happened to be blasting at the very spot I wanted though which makes me think that if I want an optimal view of the library, I need to start drawing around 8-9 am.  Ah well...next time!

Now...to finish inking some illustrations for a job before bed …

Hey, found this old illustration I did for a job and figured it kinda suited me at the moment.  Am burning the candle, not just at both ends but probably the middle and the sides too.  I have a few things am trying to pull off in the next coming months and the only way to do that is to work hard and save.  It's tiring and it can get a bit lonely since i have to stay home most nights and work nowadays.  Next week is definitely going to be insane especially. 

My brain has pretty much shut down for the night and I may take the next few hours off just to relax, watch some silly TV and go to bed.  Catching up with friends tomorrow and on Sunday which is awesome!  Though am freelancing between that but hey...I always do what needs to be done, right?

Hi!  Need to put up an old piece tonight!  Been too busy lately to draw anything for myself.  The end of tax year is coming up so everyone wants stuff done now.  It is great cos am trying to save and earn more money since am going to be slapped with a lot of tax and I have a few big plans over the next coming months.  So hurray for jobs!  Wooooo!

I am getting old though.  I remember when I could run on 4 hours of sleep for a few days before I start going a bit crazy.  That said, I think I've been a bit mental for a while and it's going to get really crazy next week and am looking forward to it.

Ps.  Before I forget, this is one of the pieces that sold on opening night!