An actual ART UPDATE.

Since Harry Potter is drawing to a close, I need to find something else to occupy the literature-obsessed part of my brain. SO, I read all three Hunger Games books at the end of this summer. One of my favorite parts of the series is how vividly you can visualize the characters, particularly the grotesque residents of the Capitol of Panem, the book's version of post-apocalyptic North America.

One of my favorites is Caesar Flickerman, the host and interviewer of The Hunger Games. This is a bit of a work-in-progress, but I'm pleased with what's come out so far. He started out a bit differently--I imagined him obnoxiously tan at first, but then I reread and he's supposed to be coated in white makeup, so I adjusted. He began as this:



And ended up as this:





In other news, I'm moving to New Jersey this weekend! I'm a little scared to start over, but I'm really excited to be closer to John and to start making our lives together! :)

Job Searching...

I've made the official decision on moving to New Jersey, both to be closer to John and to New York City, which has far more to offer me, art career-wise, than Sewickley/Pittsburgh, PA does.

So, here I am, loaded up on browser tabs marking about a dozen design/illustration jobs around NJ/NY that I qualify for, and I'm drafting several cover letters. (I must say, even if it's tedious, I'm pretty good at cranking them out.)

I also decided to jump-start my art, so I'm going to start participating on Illustration Friday! It's the motivation I've needed after a decidedly uninspirational summer.

Of course, nearly simultaneous to this decision, our newly-installed scanner died.

So, my interpretation of IF's prompt of the week--Proverb--will have to wait. More soon!

The finished ad!

Completed! The client loved it (thank God!), and it should be featured in Pittsburgh Fashion Magazine in the coming month!

Met with Cora from Spoiled Chics today--she's scaling down her project a bit due to finances, which is understandable. I'll keep you updated on the results!

To tide you over until the project is complete...

Here's a drawing I did awhile ago of some annoying kids my friend Emily and her sister Bess observed at the Carnegie Science Center during the science-y food presentation. (In honor of Em lending me her scanner. :D)

Still without a scanner...

What am I good for?

Despite my lack of hardware, my art career has been somewhat booming in my tiny town. My interior designer job with "No Good Riding Hood" has been moving along nicely. Here's a first look at the little mock-up I made for her of a business card-sized ad she wants for (the very new) Pittsburgh Fashion Magazine:

Obviously Little Red is NOT going to be a 10-second Photoshop Blob. :P I just placed it there to fill the space for effect. Both the "Good" and "by April Meredith" will be hand-lettered--again, the type is just for show. (I would never actually use that Curlz-esque font. /artschoolpretense)

After seeing this (and the black version of the mock-up), April chose--awesomely--to chat with another boutique in town, Spoiled Chics, and mentioned my name. She called to tell me that they were interested in using me for a few ads of their own, so I went in and introduced myself. We talked about some stuff they wanted me to do regarding ads, and that went well.

But, even better, when the owner Cora sent me an e-mail today with jpgs of their logo to use, she had CC'd me on an e-mail to Pittsburgh Fashion Magazine, recommending me and my work to them! I'm not sure how I'm going to juggle all of this with my full-time job at the restaurant, but I'll make it work! What I REALLY need is a scanner...

In personal news, my Mom got married! We're all really psyched, although the house has been an absolute labyrinth from her new husband moving in--he has more stuff than I thought one person could accumulate!

More soon--maybe I can get Mom to get me an interim scanner while she's at work tomorrow. Keep your eyes peeled!

-A.

WELL IT'S BEEN AWHILE

But I'm alive. And engaged! :D



John proposed at the beginning of June, and we're very excited. :) Since we're currently living in different cities, we've chosen to hold off on making definitive wedding plans until we're living in the same state (go figure :P). I'm hoping to save up some money here to make it out to New Jersey by the beginning of next year. I've started a few engagement/marriage musings of my own over here. Check it out.

As far as art, I recently started working with an interior designer named April Meredith who just opened a boutique in my town called "No Good Riding Hood", and she's asked me to design and illustrate a full-color, full-page ad to be run in Cue Magazine next month--she has a monthly deal with them, so this could definitely indicate more work in the future. I'm excited! I've made about twenty thumbnails so far--which are way too tiny and impossible to understand (unless you're me) to post them here. But once April looks over them and I can draw up a few complete sketches, I'll post them.

There is also a loose plan to start making Baby Gaga more of a presence...maybe t-shirts?

Otherwise, I've been working about 30 hours a week selling expensive designer clothing to very wealthy women, and will soon be joining up at a restaurant. Gotta fund this wedding somehow.

-A.

Graduated and happy.

Hi everybody! I'm home and graduated. Can you believe it?!

Unfortunately I'm out-of-range of a scanner or card-reader, but I'll post some photos of my grad show soon. It came together really nicely, and it was wonderful to work together with everyone to bring together such a successful show.

I have to say, I really lucked out with my space. I was honored to share an awesome room with Annie Wu, Babs Tarr, Alex Gracey, Bonnie Bladen, Jen Mussari, Michael Clayton, Lindsay Bolin, and Alyssa Nassner. They're all intensely talented, and I'm so glad to be counted among them as graduated from the 2010 MICA Illustration program!

As for me, I'm back in Sewickley, enjoying some down time while I search for jobs and unpack. Next week will be spent with John--I'm going to New Jersey for his graduation party. We're both very happy MICA graduates (although a long-distance relationship isn't our favorite thing), and we're looking forward to what the future holds!

The best of luck to the class of 2010!

The End of the MICA Chapter

Classes and finals are (essentially) over for me!

My plans for the next few days are:

-Hang the commencement show.
-Start packing.
-Attend a super-fun Victorian tea party.
-Go to a wedding! As a bridesmaid!
-GRADUATE!

I had my interview with Sarah Vinas, the art director of Glamour magazine, yesterday. Overall I think it went well! I was a little intimidated at first, but she proved to be really personable (but professional), and she offered some good advice--some which I'd heard from others, but that's normal. My biggest concern (and don't I know it)is settling on a style/media/vision. I need to focus myself. This summer will be an excellent time to explore that, so I'm looking forward to it. :) So, Sarah offered to e-mail me with a few references for people/places that could potentially be interested it my work, and offered to be a contact for me (which was very generous). Successful, I think!

Oh my gosh, here comes real life!

Old People are Cute, Part Two

Here are the finished pieces for my final! My professor for this class says these drawings are a real breakthrough for me. Yay!




(These pieces have to be posted at 72 dpi--they won't post correctly at full size! Sorry!)

My (very interim) portfolio site.

http://alyssadevlinart.carbonmade.com

Old People are Cute. :)

Here's an update on some inked sketches for a final!

The theme is the Seven Deadly Sins and their corresponding Virtues--I chose 'Invidia' (Envy) and 'Humanitas' (Kindness). I was the only person in my class to pick that pair! Which is sort of nice--no comparing imagery (or skill!).

The nice grandpa is based on my own. :) My Mom's dad--both of my dad's parents died before I really knew them.

Hope you guys aren't dying from finals!

-A.

Some older art that is dear to my heart. (It wasn't meant to rhyme, really!)

I invented Melvin Bloo shortly before I started at MICA. I'm not exactly sure how I stumbled upon him--my next-door neighbor, an interior designer, was talking about paint colors, and I think we might have been talking about what goes into naming colors, and I called out Melvin Blue offhand as a joke. She loved that and asked me to draw what Melvin Blue would look like, so I did. He was a bit skinnier then (which my mom and sister prefer), but I like the big blue boulder he became (I subsequently changed his name to Melvin 'Bloo'). :)

(I'm pretty sure the last panel of the third comic is the most depressing thing I've ever drawn.)

His friends in the three comics below (which I drew sophomore year for a book/sequential assignment) are Sherwin (Melvin's periwinkle dog), Taylor (the red one--although I never thought up a satisfactory 'red' last name for him.), Sandy Brown (the love interest with a Cat named Queso, as you might have read), and the bully Buster Black (POKE).

My mom has always encouraged me to market Melvin and my other original character (more on him in the next paragraph), which sounds like it would be really fun, should I get enough money together to print tee shirts and hats and promote them. Who knows?!

I must say that Melvin is my most sympathetic character. He was the second original character I came up with (the first was Ug, a caveman with the Barbie-like talent of being able to wear and be anything) and therefore the more sophisticated. His friends didn't exist until I made the book, but I find I like the newer characters just as much! :) I hope you like him!

-A.

Some final pieces!

Updated from here.

Not too bad considering this was my first time using a tablet/layers/Photoshop since that brief semester of EMAC in Freshman year. Overall I'm pleased (I especially like the pipes behind Welder Lady), but I'm still working on making things look the way I want them to. Digital media is easy and clean, but it's difficult to come in knowing almost nothing. :/ But I am learning, and I'm confident that a little more playing around is just what I need.

Some Sketches and Blasts from the Past!

Here are a few sketches of my classmates from last night's Life Styles (lifestyle/fashion illustration) course. Aren't my classmates (and professor--in the hat) cute? :)

And as a special treat, some hand-drawn type from my Hand Letters class waaaaay back in sophomore year--an 'illuminated' text alphabet, and (my personal favorite) a delicate, wrought-iron-inspired one.

The Next Train to Sexytown.

I took a short trip to the edge of Sexytown (where Babs' artwork lives) and stayed in Babs' guest cottage, where I made these sketches for a set of illustrations that incorporate photographs within the drawings--sort of advertising.

I set my characters in a forge/smithy--strong, sexy, blacksmith women! It was also my first time EVER doing true digital coloring, and my first time with a tablet! Eep! I hope it pleases! (Special thanks to my wonderful boyfriend John for the use of his tablet! :D) The finals will be done for next week!

Baby Gaga and a personal observation...

Firstly, a new Baby Gaga! I'd love to draw a little companion piece illustrating how she maimed her childhood dolls into that wretched ensemble...we'll see. :P

Secondly...well...

I have this weird tendency to get super, super into competitive sports if there is even the slightest bias for someone to win. This was regarding the Kansas U game for March Madness, as my good friend (and artist!) Katie is from Kansas City and is a huge fan. (they lost...sorry Katie!)

This weekend and the next is going to be full of THESIS, thanks to my boyfriend John being indisposed due to A Midsummer Night's Dream, playing at MICA right now. GO SEE IT! The sets are spectacular and the actors are super-talented!

I gots a header!

It's super-simple, but I love that drawing of myself. :P I should put bangs on it, though. I drew that a year ago and I need to update my look!

(I'm a liar--no new Baby Gaga yet. Soon!)

Gulliver and more Thesis!

The first thing here is a finished piece based on the upcoming film Gulliver's Travels, using fashions selected for Alexander McQueen, mostly. This is really my first experimentation with pattern, and I like it! It's ink and watercolor.



I'm posting these scans of my 'Thesis-in-Progress' to demonstrate my process. I overlaid tracing paper in order to approximate where my dialogue should be places within the panel and how my speech bubbles should be shaped. Page Eight is a tas askew, but you get the idea. (I tried to choose interesting pages that won't give too much away plotwise!)






Next time: more Baby Gaga!

An Alter-Ego and a BRILLIANT idea.

Here's a little something (two little somethings) that came out of a fun evening with friends. The first is a drawing of my friend Bess, the sister of close friend (and fellow Blogger) Emily. This alter ego was invented simply by switching her initials and a fleeting moment of mock-mustache twirling. :D It was really fun and I really love how it came out.

The second drawing, Baby Gaga, was a concept I came up with two days ago, watching some babies play out in Cohen Plaza in the sunlight. I searched to see if anyone else had come up with it yet (No one! Although BabyGaga.com is a baby/pregnancy site), so I'm going to run with it. :P

Hope you all got a laugh out of it! Watch out for more Baby Gaga!

Last Midterm Crit EVER!

Had a great day--got up EARLY for my 6-9 AM shift, and got three solid, computer-less hours of work done before my midterm critique with Rebecca and Jamison Odone. I was mixed up with a whole bunch of new people, and saw some really great stuff! I went last (probably for the best with all of the pages I had to tack up), and heard some good feedback. I've been told to do full color from the outset, but print in greyscale. AKA Time Suck. But I suppose it's for the best.

I got some good ideas as far as marketing myself, which is a good thing. (Phew.) I also got Jamison's email (I'm usually so good at talking to people, but his awesomeness made me into a bashful, stuttering MESS), so I'll be begging him for guidance at some point soon. :P

After the crit, I had lunch with John out in Cohen Plaza and watched other MICA students lounging out on the grass, in the sun. I watched one professor play with his adorable babies and WISHED I'd had my sketchbook so I could've drawn his adorably chubby baby son. :D Aw, bbs.

After lunch I had seminar, and I watched Jamison and three other artists present, and they were all very successful, which was encouraging. I got to work AND bond with some fellow illustrators in the senior studio after seminar, which was really refreshing, as I usually feel like I'm a completely separate entity from the department (sometimes I still did, even today).

Now I'm home, procrastinating both artwork and packing and waiting for John.

-A.

Artist Biography and Statement

We all had to write a bio and statement for the course Professional Practice for the Visual Artist, taught by Judith Page. I feel a little out of place there, as I'm the only commercial artist in the whole class--everyone else is a painter, sculptor, printmaker, etc. It's definitely geared towards the gallery crowd, but it has been helpful. Where else would a MICA student write a budget plan?

@@@

Bio

Alyssa Devlin was born in Reading, PA in 1988 and grew up in Sewickley, PA. Both sides of her family were involved in the arts, and she was a singer and actor from a young age. After going through several incarnations of potential writing careers—first journalism, then creative writing, and at the end of her junior year of high school, she found her talent for fine art, and chose to study at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She combined her passions for drawing and story-telling as an illustration major—particularly in sequential media—and graduates in the spring of 2010.

Statement

Humor need not be found only in my doodles—I built a comical illustrated world around the everyday occurrences of my own diary. My most personal sequential drawings revolved around a four-month excursion to Florence, Italy in the winter of 2009, but my comics extend to the fictitious as well as the factual, although it is all highly personal. My thesis project, a short-story I wrote translated into comic form, is an amalgamation of personalities, events, and experiences that I have had, and that have been entrusted to me. I am interested in realism, but that does not necessarily mean drama or solemnity. I believe that real life contains as much humor as it does seriousness, and I intend to reveal that through my illustrations.

Flashback to Italy (and some friend-ly fun).

My friends and I went bowling this weekend after the MICA senior gala (which was FABULOUS, and I admit, I looked pretty good!), and we had a fabulous time. During our third game, I started cartooning the parties present, and John lent his lettering talent to our names! Colin and myself were little, well, crappy at first, so we re-vamped them into more interesting characters! :P

I also wanted to post the sequential art book/diary that I wrote/drew while I was abroad, but there are FAR too many pages, so I'll post a preview, and you can access the full book here!

Life Style sketches!

These first three are sketches of super-stylish Parisian young people from photos that Dan showed us in class. I'm pretty proud of them. :)




These next two are the preliminary sketches for our second assignment: "A Night Out". I chose to illustrate a night at the opera--Carmen, specifically--and used Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren, Burberry, and Dior as inspiration for the fashion. (The toreador is in traditional costume.)

Sketches!

A couple of sketches for a potential job with Lemondrop.