Wolpertinger!

No, it's not a Jackalope.  But close.  Did a sketch this week of this mythical creature said to reside in Germany for my animal drawing class. Part rabbit, part bird, part snake, and part deer. It's called a "wolpertinger."  Yes, a "wolpertinger." (please find a way to insert that into casual conversation this week)

Fun.

:)

my new website's up :)

Hey all,
  So it took a little longer than I expected, but my newly refurbished website is now up!  It's always been just long enough since the last time that I updated it, that I've just about forgotten everything about how to build a website :)
  Anyway, it's actually pretty similar to the old one, but I've added a bunch more content.

  I hope you people enjoy it! :

www.caranilsenart.com

Updated website coming...

Here's a snap-shot of what I've been working on lately.  I'm updating my website.  I'm excited to be adding a bunch more content, including a sketchbook page as you can see there.

My website name has changed as well.  It wasn't by choice.  Long story short, someone bought up my name when it expired and there's now a junk website up at caranilsen.com.  I spent some time trying to resolve the problem, but in the end I had to just get a new domain name.  Sooo, my website is now at www.caranilsenart.com.  It's still my old website right now, but I look forward to uploading my updated version real soon!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is now enjoying getting into the holiday spirit!  I've got my Christmas tree up :)  How about you?

Wizard

So here's a sketch I did the other day when doodling in my sketchbook.  I don't think I've tried to draw a "wizard" before.  This is sort of the archetypical one that I picture.  He looks a little dark and dangerous, which I hear wizards are.

I have to confess, drawing the beard was probably the most fun.

My actual sketchbook often actually gives me inspiration for the classic fantasy stuff that I like to draw.  I don't think I've shown it before so here's a photo:

  I made it out of an old presentation portfolio that I had been using to show my illustrations.  It was a little cumbersome as a portfolio (it was the kind with the leather strings that tie around it) so I ended up shelving it for a simpler to use portfolio.

  But I loved the thick leather it was made of and wished I could use it somehow.  It occurred to me that I could use it to make a cool sketchbook.  I modified the shape a little, sewed drawing paper into it, glued magnets inside the front flap for the closing device, and voila!

  I always feel inspired just by pulling it out and looking at it:)  When I fill the pages completely, I plan to remove the pages and save them, and sew new pages in.

:)

keeping busy.

Hey everybody,

  Well, I've been kinda busy of late, but I'm finally putting something up here on my blog.  I did have a nice little assignment for a small publishing house the other week.  It looks like it might be leading to some more work too--yay!

  Here's the illustration:

  I was excited to do the finished piece entirely as a digital painting.  It's for use in a reference/educational kind of book.

  In other news, I'm really enjoying my new animal drawing class I'm teaching at OCHSA.  Such a fun class and I'm learning a lot myself, of course.  This week we're headed to the zoo!  Fun.

Cara

Back in SoCal

  Hello all,

  Well, I'm sorry I've taken so long to post a new blog since my trip!  I guess I'm still in denial about being back to "real life" after my trip.  AND school has started back up again so I'm plenty busy with that.  This is week three of the semester.  But before I get talking about school, here's a sampling of photos from my trip!

 Big Ben!

Super delicious fish & chips in Bath!

Sheep at the B&B in the Yorkshire Dales!

Abbey ruins in York!

 Cream tea near Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire Dales!

Hobbit-ish tree near Bolton Abbey!

Typical charming pub in Stratford-Upon_Avon!

The real "Lady of Shalott"painting at Tate Britain in London!

  Yes, the trip was so good that I felt compelled to use exclamation points after each of those photo descriptions.  Sigh.
  For further details feel free to ask any questions about my trip:)

  Other than that, as I said, school is back in full swing so that is keeping me busy.  I'm teaching an Animal Drawing class for the first time at OCHSA.  Pretty cool!  Also teaching beginning figure drawing and the art elective class, as usual.

  I also have an illustration assignment for a small publishing company that I've been working on.  I've given them the rough and the final is due in a couple of weeks.  Maybe I'll post something from that next time...

Post-Comic Con thoughts & Vacation plans

First off, I wanted to say that I probably won't be posting new blogs for the next couple of weeks because I'll be on vacation in the U.K.  Woo Hoo!  I leave tonight.  I'm a long time anglophile and this will be my first trip to England, so I'm super excited!

As for how Comic Con went,  wow.  Lots of craziness!  I showed my comic sample around, but I don't think that anything really solid came out of it.  I think that the San Diego Comic Con has just gotten too big for a little person trying to break in at that event in particular.  I did have a lot of fun though.

The highlight was probably getting to talk to Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn, at his table in the Artist's Alley section of the con.  People who have followed my blog for a while know my love for The Last Unicorn movie.  So cool to meet the author of the original book!  He was super friendly, and signed a copy of the new graphic novel of the book that came out in 2010.  I was kinda star-struck.

My next goal for my Snow comic is to show it around at the Long Beach Comic Con that happens around Halloween.  I just got notified this morning that I was approved for professional free passes, so I'll definitely be headed there!  It's a much smaller event, so I'm hopeful that I can have some quality networking opportunities for my work there.

After that, there is another event called the CTN Animation Expo in Burbank that I'll be headed to with my stuff.  That one starts November 18, which just so happens to be my birthday.  Perhaps that'll make me extra lucky there!

Alright, gotta get going to catch my flight.  I'll bring back pictures :)