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Keyboard smash for the win.

A little news:

I'm obviously not uploading sketches for a bit. I gotta go to work soon, so no time to scan everything. In retrospect, I haven't done much sketching in general. I'll upload what little studies I have done here soon (if I can remember, it'll be tonight. If not, tomorrow morning.)

I have, however, been reading at every break I get at work, I read when waiting to clock in or waiting for the car to thaw out so I can drive home. In all this "in between time" reading, I've nearly finished Stephen King's On Writing. What do I have to say for it?

The best. Book. On writing. Ever.

Ever.

Besides that book, I'm almost done with The Outstretched Shadow, Brisingr, and The Plea of Apollisian, respectively. The first book I started reading in 2005. Yes. Five years. And even though the story is good, the characters likable, it fails to keep me "gripped to the end." And I know why. It's too damned descriptive. Stephen King put it best. "When there's too much description, you know the writer got too fascinated with his power of vision." Or something like that. Basically, these writers are good, but it's hard to read through all the description, inner dialogue (that could be condensed without losing the story), that the book feels like it's draaaagging. Even during the battle scenes.

As for Brisingr, I've been working my way through that book for a year and a half now. I'm not proud, as an Inheritance fan since I was 14, I'm ashamed it's taken me so long. The only reason I have for not finishing it is that, although interesting and well written, the pacing is so long that I don't feel like there's any tension build up. I'm less than 150 pages from finishing it. Why don't I make the last jump in a few hours? Because I'm disinclined. I feel that if there was a climax, I should be feeling the tension climbing up and making me WANT to keep reading.

But I don't.

I got a spoiler recently and so I know something big DOES happen. But I totally have no indication that anything different is gonna happen. :XD:

Good book, just not keeping my interest. D:

The last one has been pretty good, but I think it's just not paced the way I like it. I think the reason I don't feel more inclined to read it is a biased one; it's not too descriptive nor under descriptive and the characters and story are sound. I don't like the idea of another prophecy child, but I've talked to the author and he's given hints that it's darker than it sounds. Because I do like the characters, I want to finish it, but I guess it's not as gripping to me as The Death Gate Cycle was.

Right now, in the Plea of Apollisian, I'm at a scene where there's a battle with dwarves going on. From previous battles covered, I've learned that these dwarves mean business. Mean, horrible, filthy son of guns. And there's a lot at stake. Yet I closed the book to save it to read later. xD;; Not sure if that's a good sign, or maybe my attention span wavers too much.

All in all, I can't wait to finish these three and On Writing. The next books after those are either the Darksword Trilogy or the Raistlin Chronicles. After those two, I'll hopefully have gotten my hands on the very first trilogy in the Drizzt legacy. I'm excited to read R.A. Salvatore's work. I've never read his stuff, but have heard a lot of praise, so we'll see. :)

So, I have over thirty books to read next year and I have a lot of plans concerning art. School is going great and I'm looking forward to some of the classes. Work has been difficult, but during this break it's easier - at least I have a job! For that I'm endlessly grateful.

I have other plans, but I'll cover them when I've put more thought into 'em. :)

Hopefully the next update will be sketches, not just talking about them. ;P

No images yet.

I'll try to upload more studies here. Just haven't had the time to scan (or work much on them. :()

Kinda got sick in the past couple weeks. Started feeling better by Friday, but Saturday everything went downhill lol. Now I'm feeling better, and I'm just glad I got the next couple days off. This is the last week of the semester, definitely looking forward to finishing and being able to breathe a little easier.

Other than that, I have a lot of new ideas for my books and a lot of inspiration and ideas on improving both writing and drawing. I look forward to sharing them.~

Hope everyone's having a good December so far. :]

Thoughts and speculations

National Novel Writing Month is coming to a close. I'm fairly certain I'll cross the finish line, but once again, it's only with 1/3 of the actual story complete. I'm going to estimate this book to range between 100,000 ~ 150,000 words, before cutting anything out and seriously editing.

I'm thinking that I may have been wrong, that UnWritten may just be a trilogy begging for completion, instead of a stand-alone. We'll see once Part I unravels. It may be a duet-ish, with only two books. We'll see once the editing phase kicks in.

Believe me, I'm SO ready to call my inner-editor to come back from vacation. :B

Besides that, I've decided I'm going to do my best to get a booth at GenCon next year. The details are fuzzy but one thing is for certain, no matter which way I go, I'm going to be working on better-painted pieces.

To start off, I'm illustrating Tal, our mute protagonist from UnWritten, as the first test dummy of sorts, for methods of painting. It's also going to be the first fully-finished and refined painting of a humanoid since...well, I can't remember. Everything before it were dragons. 'The Elder,' 'To Escape,' and 'Dreams' stands before it. Let's see if he can stand among them.

Here's a screenshot of the work in progress. Planning to refine a bit more today. (Left is the rough sketch, right is the progress of refining it. Duh, but really...)


*Edit**
And here's an update for today~

Myr.

Quick n' lame portrait. Needed to do something to get my mind off things for a little.

This is Myr ("Meer" to be technical O.o sorry for the weird name!)

He's an Aeteli, like Talimyro, but he's an 'elder' (about 150ish years old. Aeteli live to be 200.) and he's blind in his left eye, partially blind in the right.

He's kind of the antagonist, but mostly not.

Excerpt: UnWritten

'Tis the opening of the first chapter of my NaNo-novel, UnWritten. Just thought I'd post it since it's chugging along nicely. Even if it does, indeed, need a lot of editing. xD Enjoy.

-o

I was young but no longer a child. The way I had spent the first twenty-eight years of my life could be adequately related to a comatose. I was reckless, nosy, pushy, and always had my way. It was a trait that made me more successful as a merchant than my father ever could be. I was proud of myself.

I spent every year traveling, buying and selling goods, and learning the market and the people it served. As a result, I befriended many. I have a list of people whom I would defend with my life and I like to believe they would do the same for me. This is only my explanation to solidify what I'm about to tell you. This way you will understand I am not a crazy fool and I didn't find the boy in a gutter someplace.

I was twenty-eight and I received a letter from a friend of ten years. His name was Rysorin, Head Aeteli of a kingdom north of Sharyndai. It was a dire situation, he needed to speak with me immediately, feared mentioning the subject in written form. Letters back then had no protection. I knew a good half-dozen men had shifted through the letter before it made its way to me. I packed my things and headed to the kingdom--known as Crystal Star in Etlian. Its true name is difficult for me to pronounce.

The place was beautiful, made of crystal, marble, and white stone structures. It was a winter-wonderland. The Aeteli lived in peace and I was half-frozen. You know how Aeteli can endure harsh weather better than others? I was reminded strongly as the ship docked and I descended the ramp. In the shipyard I met Rysorin. He was normally stoic and hard to understand—Aeteli are like that—and he took me to his home where a fire was built and hot-tea served to warm my blood.




“What is the point of this?” the elf asked dryly. He stood at the window of a small study. An old man sat opposite, in a cushioned chair. His balding head caught the final sun rays like a polished stone, what hair remained was white and thin, but long enough that it was tied back at the base of his neck.

“I'm getting there,” he said with a wave. “You asked for more information on the lad, didn't you? Well, have at it. Do you wish to sit? It may take a while.”

The elf remained standing, narrowed eyes glaring at him. Ignoring his impatience, the old man tutted and mumbled until he remembered where he left off.

“...Ah, that's where I was...Rysorin had a desperate request,” he continued. “He doesn't ever ask my favor, so I was willing to oblige. He explained a couple in the kingdom had given birth to a child. Children are rare for them, you know—”

“I know. I don't need you explaining every sticky trait of the bastards. Just tell me where he's at.” It was difficult for the elf to remain standing still. His hand lingered near a pistol on his hip. The old man wasn't fazed.

“If you say so,” he rubbed his chin. “He told me the child couldn't stay with them, so he asked if I could take him in. Since I needed an heir someday, I obliged. There is his origin.”

“That doesn't explain anything, old man—”

“Of course it doesn't. You don't want to know about the Aeteli,” he scoffed. “You'd understand if you let me tell you.” The elf scowled.

“Tell me where he is, Calidar. That is all I need to know.”

“You would have also understood that where ever Tal is, he's not on some restricted area, breaking laws. He's a good boy.”

The elf's eyes widened and he strode forth, slamming his hands on the desk, leaning near. “Are you telling me that you do not know where he is?”

“I told you that I do know where he is. But if you want to be specific, then ask a specific question.” Calidar looked steadily at him, a tilt in his head that suggested the elf do as he advised.

Irritated, the elf rolled his shoulders back, standing straight with a sure posture. “Tell me where exactly Talimyro is and I will not turn you in for not cooperating with the Kalir.” His hand reached for the pistol.

“He's at the library. He will arrive here in a couple hours' time.”

“Really?” the elf wanted a confession, Calidar sensed it since the officer arrived at his doorstep. “We have received multiple reports declaring your son was seen on private, restricted property.”

“Why are they reporting to the Kalir instead of telling him straight-up to get off, if he was there?” Calidar asked. “It seems to me that there is suspicion in place of sightings. How can you simply assume without real evidence?”

The Kalir officer remained still. For a moment, Calidar wondered if he would reach the end of his rope soon enough and pull out that weapon.

Conflict

'...Alfred was struck, startled by the young duke's words. Was peace a luxury available only to a "fat" world? He recalled Prince Edmund's people, ragged, freezing, starving; watching their children, their elderly die while inside this city was warmth, food. What would I do if I was in their position? Would I meekly die, watch my children die? Or would I fight? Alfred shifted in his chair, suddenly uncomfortable.

I know what I'd do, he thought bitterly. I'd faint!...'
- Page265, Fire Sea, Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

Just had to quote it. Freaking love these books.

LimeLife

It hasn't been long since I've updated here, but it's been a while since I mentioned anything about my personal life, which isn't anything of extraordinary, but I'm excited so I'll share it.

First, the job hunt has finally come to a close. I'm working at a local supermarket, in the bakery. It's not a glorious job, but it's a job and so far I really don't mind it. The people are nice and I've enjoyed decorating cupcakes with cute little decorations on them. They really give you freedom in how to decorate them, as long as they're appealing and all. Having the three months' experience in decorating cakes (albeit two years ago) really helped in actually getting the job. I would've been in produce otherwise!

Second awesome thing is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) that begins in two days from now. I've got the book's premise planned out, and now I'm working on the written outline. Only on chapter thirteen though! I'm worried about not being prepared for it, but it's still exciting.

Thirdly, I've received all the books I ordered on Amazon a couple weeks ago. They're all on writing, four of them from Writer's Digest, and one an independent publisher. The titles are, respectively, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers (by Renni Browne & Dave King), Plot & Structure, Beginnings, Middles, & Ends, Characters & Viewpoints, and From First Draft to Finished Novel. All of these are new, but I also have a sixth book about writing that I've had for six years and only recently started to read (half done now, as we speak), called On Writing by Stephen King. Everyone has been talking about it, authors have suggested it to me and I've heard nothing but good feedback from it. And now that I read it, it is every bit what they say. I highly recommend it. Doesn't matter your skill level. Pick up the book. Read it. Now.

Fourthly, I've switched my degrees from Graphic Design to Web Design. All the classes I took will transfer into Web Design, and the course schedule only changes after next summer. So I don't waste time or money with this transfer. I'm definitely more interested in it as well. If I can get good at Web Design, you can bet that there will be an official site for my stories and art.

New babies have faces!

As mentioned on my DA profile, I got a new story idea during orientation at work. And they've done nothing but run amok in my head. Here's a quick sketch of their heads at the young age of 14 ~ 15 (girl and redhead are 14 and the drow 15.) They have faces! :'D

It's Not Me

Was experimenting with trying to evoke emotions from simplicity, and tried to incorporate some Graphic Design stuff in it. >.> The anatomy sucks.

Speedpaints and updates

I think I update this a lot, what do you think? XD

Anyway, I got some time after school and working on planning my NaNoWriMo novel to doodle something, and made a quick speedy portrait of Talimyro, one of the characters from my novel. And yes, it's a dude. He's supposed to be prettiful. :'D




That aside, the painting of Elian is going slow. After a friend critiqued it, we discerned it was fail. It's not so bad though! I'm going to do some more studies with drawing people and then redraw him. The killer is the perspective. It has to match the background, otherwise it'll look extraordinarily goofy. I'm looking forward to it. :]

Moar Sketches >:D

Hello:D

Here's an update on the Elian painting (will work more tonight, since no word from clients and I got time to kill.)



Next, here's a quick sketch for a friend on our RP. Dira's getting some lovin'. :'D


Aaaand here's something for a client. I'm sharing because I kinda like it. :'D I need to work on drawing the same face at an angle, though. :/ Still waiting on the client's feedback though. If it's accepted, these'll have flat colors and go along with a character sheet for this character. First time making one of this particular type (front view, back view, two headshots.) It's pretty fun and exciting, and I couldn't have had a better subject either!

Another WIP

Atmospheric Reference is "Empire City", a beautiful painting done by gamefan84 on DeviantART. I like to keep inspiration near me when I'm working on stuff. There's more than that painting that's inspiring the atmosphere of the painting, but this is the one I had open at the time. (here's the link to the original, so you can drool over it: http://gamefan84.deviantart.com/art/Empire-City-155103601?q=boost%3Apopular+desert+city&qo=2 )

Since this past summer, I've stopped painting in color. Instead I've been painting in gray scale before applying color on a layer above it. It's helped a LOT with learning depth, but I'm still not "there" yet. I think this is a good time to test my coloring skills and try to paint in just color while still establishing depth that the gray scale paintings provided.

And yes. Another work in progress. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll even finish this before getting another idea.

Dira WIP

I need to add to my portfolio, and since right now my strength is in creatures, I'm going to refine a painting idea of Dira in her true form. She's too much fun, I swear. 20-30 hours is the goal, only working when homework is finished. And also, I'm going to start working on owed art here shortly. :)

Sketches

This is a sketch of a RP character I created for a role play with a friend. ^^ She's a b****, pardon my language. She just. Really is. O.o


A WIP of a gift I'm working on for a friend's upcoming birthday. They're not her characters, but it's more of a "lift your spirits" kind of painting. The composition is horrible, but I don't feel like painting more than a bust. Regardless, I hope she'll like it. She could really use some spirit-boosting!

SketchDump

Most of these are just random sketches, but some of them are studies from life and photos. Texture is from Princess-of-Shadows.deviantart.com

Couple exams coming up and a loooot of work to do to keep on top of things. This week at ConceptWorld, the theme is "City of the Dead." I don't know if I can plan something good enough for this week, and for the first time, I'm drawing a blank. Maybe doodling landscapes will help? Or perhaps I'll watch LOTR: The Return of the King for inspiration? XD Ah well.

Hope you guys are having a fantastic week. :D

Anorexic Demon - "Nightmare"

I've finally finished it to where I like it. The original version was so horrible - bad composition, REALLY saturated colors that made me cringe. With the help of a friend on DA (and you, Undrea - you're a genius!!) I decided to go back to it and tinker with it until I liked it. This is the result.

However, as much as I REALLY want to, I'm not uploading this version to DA until the contest I made the original for is over. I don't think it would be fair otherwise. :/

WIP anorexic demon

WIP so far... Uploaded this mostly to show my cousin. Gah, it's taking longer than I thought! Probably going to look like crud in the end, but ah well... D:

Character Mash.

I have a side project, a story I'm working on alongside my bigger project, and I've been trying to develop how they look further by doodling them. That and, well, they're just fun characters. Is it alright to enjoy drawing your own characters? O.o...meh.

Also uploading these as additional references for someone I'm commissioning. Sorry they're so darn messy. I didn't use any blue-pencils beneath these, hence you see all my crazy-lines before the solid-er ones. >.> I'll get better, I promise... :P

Sketches + an actual update.

Michelle's characters :'D I had way too much fun drawing them. So much fun, that Deriv looks female. How did that happen...huh.

I think I've gotten worse as of late...that, or I just haven't felt like drawing any buffed men or dudes with facial hair. >.> I'll try and get some real manly men drawn. And some real women, for goodness sake. I have more sketches than I show, I'm just too lazy to scan my sketchbook. xD

Anyway, as for updates...
There are several things going on. One, I failed my driving test (my bad...), but I'm scheduled to retake it on the 17th. Pretty sure I'll pass. I'll be dumbfounded if I don't, since I'm driving perfectly fine, it was just a yellow-light-turned-red-while-turning deal before that screwed me over. I'll drive more carefully next time and avoid that >.<

Two, I've set a goal for writing the new draft of my book series, Thundering Magic, renamed now - at least temporarily - as the Song of Fate saga. Book one, A Thousand Eagles, is about the revelation one bond-servant receives as his life becomes property in a struggle that's been going on for centuries. (short version of a stupid and long summary lol. I hate writing them~ )

I'm about 5,000 words into it so far, and I'm setting the mark as 150,000 words (aiming lower for the sake of not writing too fat of a book, but 150k is a safe number.), and the deadline April 25 (my birthday!!) of next year. That gives me 7 months (technically 6 months, as November is reserved for NaNoWriMo.) I'll need to write at least 8,333 words a week to meet my goal. Whether I reach it or not, if I keep up writing every week, I'll be close to finishing it sometime next year. Wish me luck!

Lastly, I thought I could double up on classes and graduate at the end of next year, but when I looked over my course schedule, there's no way to finish it until late 2012. It gives a setback for some plans I had for that year, but the good news about it is that it gives me some extra time to save for it. :)

Alrightie, it's about 3 am and I need to get off here before I topple over and my cat eats my papers.

Night~
Yukimi

RP inspired quickie.

Wonky anatomy, but I had fun painting this. 2ish hours, PS CS2.
Arlyn grew up nicely xD Though poor him, he is still going to be mistaken for a girl. Ha-ha. Makes for fun RP.

James - sketch-

Working on a new drawing of a character from my books, James. It's the first time I've drawn him full body in...gosh, a year? Two? Poor boy's been neglected. Tsk. Anyway, I don't know if I'll finish it, but I enjoyed drawing him for what time I did. It's relaxing to work on something personal between commissions and school. ^_^

More sketches

Was going to enter this to a contest, it ends in 2 days though. I'm not sure if I can make it. D:

Concept of a race for my books.

Coreth and Puppy :D

This is for my friend again; I made the characters look a little too young though. >.>;; Sorry about that. Hope she likes it though!

Cheater!

Just a sketch of my character (left) and my friend's (right) playing poker. Coreth (the one on the left) is a half-Guardian, the 'Guardian' being a malevolent spirit that's bloodthirsty, manipulative, and attached to Coreth's soul. This is sort of a joke, Coreth using the Guardian (which isn't really visible) to see what cards his opponent has. :P

This is also a gift to my friend, who's been having a rough time lately. Hope she'll like this, even though I don't have time to do something more refined.

Drawing from Life

This article explains why it's so important better than I can: http://news.deviantart.com/article/126906/ Additionally, I can't speak for myself too much here since I have only started heavily referencing life for a few months now. However, I can totally say that it's improved how I draw a hundred percent.

That's all for an update. I'm getting over the cold, though there's a wheezing cough that's being kind of stubborn, but other than that I'm great. I'm pumped and ready for my exercise class tonight! Woot.

Also have math homework to catch up and try to keep on top of, need to outline the next couple weeks' assignments so I can manage my time well enough to finish commissions in a timely manner and continue the never-ending quest of part-time job hunting.

Anyway, that's it~
Yukimi

Insomnia.

Blahh... I'm unable to sleep at the moment. I got a cold, have a class tomorrow - or rather, today in about 8 hours - and I can't sleep worth anything. Campus is 45 minutes away and I'll be driving there for the first time. So. I'm a bit nervous. I need to be up at 6 am to get ready and leave in time for class. It's been three hours of tossing and turning until I just decided to get everything packed and ready out of sheer boredom. Then I turned on my pc, browsed DA for a few minutes, and decided to speedpaint myself into sleepiness.

Which kind of worked, but not really.

Anyway, this is what I whipped up in about twenty or thirty minutes. It's rough and silly, but I had fun hah.


Airships for the win!

Anyway, sorry for the mini rant. I'll try and sleep now. xD

~
Yukimi

WIP

Work in progress~
This will be a portfolio piece. Hoping to get more creature designs all polished up and whatnot.
(Plus I really liked the sketch xD It was begging for color.)
Hope you like it~

Sketch dump~

As promised, sketches~


First (above) is my brother's UO character (Ultima Online). I drew the hat wrong, but oh well - I'm glad he liked it though. He's a beast tamer of sorts. hehe
This one is Sywyn, a character belonging to Nadezhdavasile, a friend on deviantART. c:
Sketch dumppp~
Gotta love Richard, from Looking for Group. Read it. Laugh. Be pleased. (And be sure to watch "This is War" and "Slaughter Your World" on youtube for Looking for Group.)
Couple other sketches, no real reason for them lol.


That's it~

Besides sketches, my cousin recently made a simpler system for DnD-style RPG, and it's addicting fun. Was up until 1 am last night playing. My character's freaking stupid. But at least he's strong and fast. Never lost a health point. 8D

Hope everyone's week has gone well. My weekend is planned primarily as a break from going places all the time and to apply for a job or two. Or three. We'll see what's available.

A doodle of my Shape-shifter, Turnlabius Arthelian.

I've a lot of other sketches to scan in later today~

I have a blog!

I've decided to make a blog for sketch dumps, random art, speedpaints, what have you. I have a deviantART page (in fact I'm moving stuff from my gallery over here.) After discussing the pros and cons of how to use DA and what a blog could benefit, it makes sense to use blogger for dumps and silly stuff than deviantART. DA has become popular, which is great, because art directors are likely to search it. If one stumbles on my page, what do I want them to get from it at first glance? That's what spurred this blog.

So, introductions to anyone who accidentally stumbled here, I'm Yukimi Mills, an artist and writer. I think I'm still at a novice stage for both, but I'm having fun improving and working toward my goals. I have a cat, two fish, and if I could afford it I'd have Starbucks' frappeccino's(sp?) every morning. :P

I'm also a full time college student, beginning my second year toward an Associate's in Graphic Design. Even though I've noticed lately I don't much like it, but oh well. It's practical. After that I'm looking forward to getting an Associate's in Business Marketing. That sounds more fun, for some reason. Bah.

Anyway, I'm stoked to get things started. Hopefully tomorrow I can get some work uploaded here~

Over and out-
Yukimi