Ambidexterous Comix

Most of the sketches of Meli that I’ve bothered to upload have featured just one, blank-looking expression (see top-left), so I thought I’d counteract that with a collection of them. A couple are directly from Adventure Time, including Princess Bubblegum summoning the Morrow, which will probably never cease to crack me up.

As a character, Meli’s expressions are largely pretty reserved (much like PB), but at least part of that is that I haven’t pushed them as far as is possible for a cartoon. Definitely planning to work on that, but it’s not something that has ever come too easily to me. 

I also wanted to show off one of my favorite things about Meli: when she is aroused (in either sense), her hair gets drippier and harder to manage. That is probably best shown here in the last expression, where she is so infuriated that her hair is streaming down her shoulders. 

I thought about redoing these digitally, but then I decided that I could be drawing more, better expressions. Instead, enjoy weird crosshatching where you can see her head shape through her semi-transparent hair.  

Something simple for the holiday and my birthday. I’ve been wanting to put Meli in a fancy, dress-like apron. 

Unfortunately, between a computer that kept cutting power unexpectedly and traveling today, I didn’t have time to give it a better background. This lovely lace texture is from ~PixieDivision.

5 days into the new year and no finished art yet? For shame. 

Here we have Juxtaposition Chicken (“Jux” to just about everyone), cousin several-times-removed to Choose Goose. His specialty is military planning and strategy, but he knows his way around battlefield spells, as well. He is also an extremely eloquent orator, though he sometimes jumps to conclusions a little to quickly; this is a bad combination with his hypochondria. Unfortunately, his military career was ended when he sustained a rather serious bite wound during combat. I suppose these qualities make him the definition of a tactician, magician, rhetorician, presupposition, diagnostician, bitten chicken. 

*is shot*

Powdered Sugar from the Sky

Time for a seasonal Meli picture! Yay! Happy Solstice, everyone. I, for one, and definitely looking forward to the return of the daylight hours. 

Mostly I’ve been pretty fixated on Meli’s house over the last couple days. This is the third iteration, each with a different degree of adherence to actual rules of perspective. Because I’ve been obsessively thinking about Meli’s house, here’s the annotated version:

There are, of course, about a million other pieces of minutiae that I could breathlessly indulge in right now, but those details probably suffice for now. Point being: Happy winter solstice and happy holidays! 

Felt like playing dress-up with Meli today. I’ve also been wanting to try making her hair look a little more shiny and syrupy — I like the result. 

The vest and coat are from a picture I saw a while ago, and for some reason have always wanted to draw Meli in:

According to the original post, the jacket is from around 1790, so the bustle skirt I drew it with probably isn’t quite right. But, who knows how fashion worked in Ooo, so I’ll probably leave it. 

So far I’ve received a couple requests for commissions, but I have never made any formal post that I accept them, or about how much they cost. To be honest, I am wary of nailing down a price; it all has to do with the desired picture, how much time it will take me, and how much time I have available. Since I’m not offering commissions at different levels of completion (e.g., sketch commissions, black and white, bust/portrait, etc), instead I prefer to lay out what aspects I take into consideration when deciding how much to charge. 

If you have an idea you’d like illustrated, please please please contact me! If my initial quote for your illustration is outside of your price range, I am always willing to suggest simplifications or changes. I would much rather take your commission than drive you away with a high price (but keep in mind, I do need reasonable compensation for my time and work). 

Things to think about:

• Complex vs. simple illustration
  This is probably the most abstract qualification, and I think best explained through examples (see below). Aspects of a “complex” illustration include advanced perspective, lighting, and composition, detailed backgrounds, and more dynamic poses. “Simple” illustrations include basic standing/sitting poses, and are composed a lot more like a shot from the show: background (optional), flat lighting, straight-on view. 
• How many figures?
  More is usually more expensive, because it will take me longer to draw. 
• Background?
  Unless you’re asking for a particularly detailed background (inside the Treehouse, for example), this does not have a huge effect on the price. It is useful information to include, however. 
• Character design or portrait?
  If a portrait, I will ask that you email me several photos, preferably with different expressions if possible. For a character design, photos are dependent on whether you want a character based on yourself or something completely fresh. Most of my drawings so far are humanoids, but I would absolutely love to do other types of characters! If you’ve got an idea, throw it at me! I can draw already-designed characters too, of course. 
• For print? If yes, what dimensions? Do you want it printed and shipped, or print yourself?
  This does not affect the price (unless I am doing the printing and shipping), it’s just information I need to know. Prints are never watermarked, but can be signed by request. 
• Deadline?
  If the commission is a gift (birthday, holiday, etc) and needs to be completed within a certain timeframe, that will factor into the price. This is especially true if it needs to be printed and shipped. 

Examples

Of course, each picture fits into multiple categories, but hopefully the distinctions are clear. 

Complex illustration

Simple

Portrait

Character design

So, how does this whole commission process work?

Read More

Commission for redditor hrgoodman of herself, her boyfriend, and their 2 cats.