Christine Larsen Illustration & Design

Foxes for the Holidays

2011-12-08T20:00:00.005-05:00

Every year I make a Holiday card to send out to clients that I have worked with in the past year. It's a great excuse for me to do something whimsical and fun as a "thank you" to the nice folks I have had the pleasure to work with. The longer I have done these, the further away I seem to get from actual "Christmas" themes. Now, it seems, as long as I hint at a possibility of snow, the card feels appropriate. ^^

This particular image was an old, dusty sketch from the long, long ago of 2008. I was rummaging through my old digital files, trying to get an idea of what I wanted to do for my card this year, when I came across this gem...

It's a little embarrassing that I could scrawl something so poorly drawn, but it does contain some of my favorite things to draw: pretty girls with pointy ears, cute animals, lanterns and japanese themed clothing. So I blew this up and printed out some reference photos for a shamisen, geisha kimonos and tatami mats to redraw the sketch.

The final ink was done with my favorite chinese painting brush (the "happy dot" brush ^^) and winsor newton watercolor brushes on Canson Pro Marker layout paper.

I did quite a bit of refining as I inked. Sometimes it is easier for me to draw with a brush as I'm finishing. (Read this blog post to see why I am inking in 2 colors.)

Lately I have been coloring a lot of my line work and also using color holds to make a good chunk of that line work blend in with the other flats. While this does diminish my line a little, I think it lends itself to stronger finished pieces. In any case, despite the extra time I have to spend on the finals (and the extra work that goes into prepping the layers so they render neatly), I am really liking the results.

A bunch of folks have asked me about layers and textures and what I use to do my finals. When it comes to stuff like that, I feel like you really need to work out your own style of coloring and do what you feel works best for you. I am including this screenshot of the shadow and texture layers as they render, so you can see the difference between the flats and the finished color.

And here's the final image! Cheers, and happy holidays :)

You can by the print of this piece through my deviant art account. Just in time for the holidays :D

Black and White Poster

2011-11-10T15:07:00.007-05:00

I was recently asked by the folks for Type In to design the poster for their December event. This was one of those fun projects where the only request I received was that a vintage typewriter appear in the final art and that the final be in black an white. Noir it is!

Above is the approved sketch with "place holder" type added in (so I could be sure the hand lettering I was doing would fit where it needed to go).

I did the art in a few pieces, first there was the line work for the illustration, then the lettered bits. I did these all on Canson Pro marker layout paper with sumi ink, brush and a ruling pen.

The final illustration incorporated 3 or four ink wash and paper textures and a little digital painting on layer masks.

And finally, here it is with all the type laid in. I added a wash texture to the title to give it a little added interest...

Dead and Dreaming Opening Night...

2011-10-01T19:09:00.018-04:00

Despite my current battle with a nasty head cold, I still managed to take quite a few photos at the Dead and Dreaming show last night...

If you couldn't make the opening, the show will be up for the next 3 weeks, after which there will be a closing reception (you can check my Facebook Page for updates on that).

If you can't make it to the show, or to Philadelphia in general, you will be happy to know there is a book available at lulu.com!

The book is really gorgeous, and features both the art and preliminary sketch work from each of the artists...

My framed piece sold, but I still have prints available from my limited edition screen print run. When the show is over, if there are any left, I will probably open a big cartel site to get rid of what remains. However, to be sure you get one, you may want to contact Paradigm Gallery.

Another big thanks to Sam Heimer for putting together an amazing show and amazing little book. Great work all around!

Lizard Queen

2011-09-25T08:04:00.007-04:00

I've been drawing this snake lady for over a week now, and I really wanted to do a piece with her, so I sat down and thumb-nailed a few compositions out and finally came up with this...

I did the refined sketch by blowing up my thumbnail to approx. 11" x 17" and tracing it out on marker composite paper.

The ink took me the longest to do. Because of the fine detail in her body and the upper bg, I actually was using a 0 pt WN Series 7 brush for a fair chunk of this. Normally I don't go that small, but I wanted her to seem delicate, and I was worried that a No.2 or my larger chinese painting brushes could get too loose or horsey looking.

This is the final ink, color corrected and set into it's template in photoshop...

(Read this post to see why I am inking this in 2 colors.)

Coloring my pieces, even my graphic coloring, has become a more arduous process because I am trying to incorporate some of the techniques I am using in my Kung Fu Panda work, while keeping the look of my brush. It's been a tricky balance to find, but I finally have a rhythm down, which is most of the battle.

Anyway, here be the flats...

The overlay and gradient layers help to key the local color...and glowy things are pretty :3

And the final piece, with some detailed cell shading, halftones and textures laid in...

(click to enlarge)

I would like to quickly note that I make all my own textures...They are either my own photographs of cement or rusted metal or decaying buildings, or they are scans of paper that I systematically abuse. I highly suggest building a texture library of your own construction, and not ripping stuff off of texture websites.

EDIT: A final revision, where I fixed a few things that were staring me in the face, softened some of the shadows and added a little more texture and colored line... putting this file to bed, now.

Dead and Dreaming...

2011-09-23T09:45:00.004-04:00

Dead and Dreaming
A Tribute to H.P. Lovecraft
Paradigm Gallery
www.paradigm-gallery.com
2020 South Street, Philadelphia PA
Opening Reception: September 30th 6-10 PM

Thanks to James Heimer I will have 2 color screen prints available for the show!

Lanterns

2011-08-31T08:59:00.006-04:00

Last week was a light week for me as I waited on approvals and scripts to come in, so I decided to work on a little something that's been sitting in my sketchbook for a while now...

This is where the image started, as a quick black and white digital sketch that I did a few months ago. I revised this to add more creatures and detail into the image, because I wanted the feel of a very crowded back street.

This is the finished ink with tone added in Photoshop. I prefer to ink by hand. Besides the fact that I enjoy the feel of the brush, there are a lot of effects in hand inking (like dry brush and rough washes) that do nice things when I flatten the blacks. I also really like having a physical copy of something.

This was inked with a combination of Winsor Newton Series 7 Watercolor brushes (Size 0 and 2 for the noodley bits) and Chinese painting brushes (for the broader, quicker strokes).

The final art is scanned in (this one was 15" x 22", so I had to scan it in 6 parts and Auto align it in Photoshop), the blacks are flattened and tidied up in some spots (where the scanner was a little dirty), and then I color in tons of flat layers overlapping to give a sense of depth. Some gradients and line coloring happened in this as well.

And here it is (again)...the final version.

Helheim

2011-08-21T21:26:00.005-04:00

This spring, I was asked by the folks over at Strange Kids Club to contribute to their Halloween anthology. I wracked my brain over a short story that would involve their main character, and inspiration finally struck when I came across a sketch of Hel (the Norse goddess of the underworld) in my sketchbook.

Thus the idea for "Helheim" was born. I've decided to post up some pencils and inks to wet whistles until the release of the book...enjoy :)

The Worship of Dagon

2011-08-08T17:36:00.008-04:00

Digital file for a 2 color screen print. This is my piece for the "Dead and Dreaming" Lovecraft Show at Paradigm gallery this fall. Curated by the talented and macabre Sam Heimer.

And the inks alooooonnnne...

Bu-bu-but why are these inks in 2 colors?

Good question! Read THIS POST for the answer.

Art Brap...

2011-08-06T11:17:00.007-04:00

This has been a pretty busy summer so far. In addition to getting a new studio with illustrator/comic artist Tim Durning, I've also just wrapped up teaching a summer course at the University of the Arts and have been bowed under finishing up a story for the Kung Fu Panda comic put out by Ape Entertainment.

So, here is some art from that story along with random morning warm ups, art preps for the upcoming Autumn Society/PCS Lovecraft show and other random nonsense...

Page 4 from Kung Fu Panda "Friends for Never" written by Matt Anderson.

A quickly colored morning warm up of orcish domestic life.

Pencils for my piece for the Autumn Siciety Lovecraft show this fall. Dagon worship to be done as a 2 color screenprint. More on that when it's done :)

I also have a piece hanging in the PCS Drawn to Letters Show, curated by Christian Patchell and Concetta Barbera at Brave New Worlds in Old City Philadelphia...

So if you find yourself wandering around that part of town, you should check it out! It's chock full of amazing drawings from PCS members.

Harvey Awards

2011-07-05T10:06:00.003-04:00

La Morté Sisters has been nominated for a Harvey Award for Best Online Comics Work!

In addition, Reading with Pictures (in which I did the art for a a 2 page story written by Russell Lissau) is up for 2 nominations: Best Anthology and Best Original Graphic Publication for Younger Readers.

I just wanted to send out well wishes and good lucks to all of the nominees.

Adventures in Screen Printing

2011-05-26T14:34:00.014-04:00

Even though I spent the better part of my first 4 years out of college as an art monkey for a commercial screen printer, I don't think I've actually pulled a screen in about 10 years (back when I was a college freshman...you do the math). In any case, I finally bit the bullet and printed a set of posters for Southwork, a band that my friend is in. Screen printing is something that I've always wanted to do but never had an excuse for, so I gave myself a reason to do it...

Fortunately, my intern, James has been screen printing recently. He helped me with a few pointers, some much needed moral support and hanging the artwork up to dry. BTW, don't ask me how I managed to get another summer intern. For some reason, these kids think I know some type of wizardry...Don't blow my secret, they work for pizza.

Speaking of hanging stuff up to dry...this is what the studio looked like. That's about 60 or so prints hanging.

I'm not neat when I do anything. I'm actually not sure how I managed to keep the edges of my prints clean. Magic, I guess.

The final product, which I will be selling at the show.
As I do more screen prints I hope to become better at them. Of the 70 I printed, only 50 are good enough to sell. Next time: less stressful registration...

Nyub Nyub

2011-05-20T23:55:00.004-04:00

More digital paint adventures. Did this for the folks at Planet Pulp.

It was a good way to practice a bit of fur and burlap...

Under painting...

Adventures in Digital Painting...

2011-05-19T09:04:00.005-04:00

And now for something completely different...

Once upon a time, back in art school, I was actually trying to be an oil painter. Though my love still remains with ink and brush, it is nice to know that I retained some of that knowledge. While I have been messing on and off with completely digital speed paints and sketches, I've never taken the full time I needed to complete a piece. In any case, this could be the start of...something. Not sure what, though.

click on any image to enlarge...

This is where it started. I did this speed paint (erm...about 20 minutes) on Sunday night and decided to experiment...

The under painting. I decided to do this in blue, since I wanted the lights in the piece to be relatively warm.

The painting in progress

More in progress screen shots. I was roughly laying in color and refining as I went. At this point I was a little concerned that the lady in this picture was starting to look a little like the troll version of wonder woman :/

The final piece, with little touch ups. The scales were added to the dragon last.

Overall, I think this was a decent freshmen effort in digital painting. Maybe more to come? I definitely am interested in exploring it more...

Urban Gardening

2011-05-16T17:34:00.009-04:00

Though I've lived in Philadelphia for years now, I grew up in a relatively rural area of the Pine Barrens, and my folks had a descent sized garden throughout my childhood. I've always grown at least herbs in whatever space I've lived in, be it a tiny South Street apartment or large South Philly row home, but last year I was so busy in the spring that I didn't have the time to do my usual ghetto garden. This year, however, my schedule is much less bonkers, and I was determined to have myself a little piece of the country in my backyard.

So, while out for a walk on Sunday I picked up some plants from Greensgrow Farms, the local greenhouse and hit home depot for the usual potting soil, giant paint bucket combo. Thus armed with all the tools of destruction I needed, I potted my four little tomato plants, my pepper plant, my basil and thyme plants...

tomato and pepper

thyme

basil

During the arduous task of cleaning the backyard, I discovered several earthworms in the disintegrating leaves and foliage from autumn past. These fine creatures were plucked from the horrific fate of the trash heap and dropped in the tomato and pepper buckets...

And since I know you're wondering, those are red pepper flakes sprinkled on top of the soil. This works to keep curious stray cats away and deter squirrels. Just re-sprinkle once a week.

I won't lie, the planting bug has bitten me (and I think, maybe a few real ones). I still have some spare Home Depot buckets around the house, and I think I may need to make another trip to Greensgrow to pick up those Black Pepper and Jalapeno plants...maybe some Parsley...

Acid Test: Art + Booze = Friday Night

2011-05-08T21:03:00.004-04:00

Acid Test
art by C. Larsen

12 STEPS DOWN
9th & Christian Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Opening
Friday, May 13th, 7-9pm
21+

Kung Fu Panda 2

2011-04-28T09:51:00.004-04:00

I was hired by Ape Entertainment to do the back up stories for their upcoming Kung Fu Panda 2 books.

The following are a few pages from those first 3 books:

CLICK HERE to see the process I used to create the art for these stories.

Sexy

2011-04-19T20:27:00.002-04:00

This past week, I finally finished the last in a series of books for Smashed Rat on Press. Certainly, the genre of sci-fi erotic fiction is somewhat niche, but I had a great deal of fun designing these illustrations.

Here are the first two covers...

And here is the newest, from ink to txt...

Unveiled

2011-04-12T09:17:00.012-04:00

In an attempt to do more editorial-type work, I have been keeping an eye out for stories in the news that I find particularly interesting...France's new Anti Veil Law is one of them.

If you're interested in seeing the story, here's CBS's take. I caught it last night on NBC's Nightly News, but couldn't find the clip.

Here is an alternate color scheme, because I can never settle my mind on anything...

And this is the original ink on paper. I colored most of the line art...

3B Art Show

2011-03-24T11:23:00.000-04:00

My pieces for the Autumn Society 3B Art Show...

Betelgeuse

Doc Brown

Death/The Grim Reaper

inks

original sketches

One Set of Horns

2011-03-16T22:54:00.000-04:00

I was recently asked by Ape Entertainment to do the back up stories for their upcoming Kung Fu Panda 2 books. This is page 4 in that 8 page story.

The process for these pages is obviously much different from my usual fare, but I learned a few new tricks that I will definitely be incorporating into new work...

Here's how they were done:

I started with black and red line art (done with a mixture of rapidograph pens, micron pens and brush for the large fills). I wanted the lines to be even, and doing the art in 2 colors helped me to separate out the lines to color them (see this post for details on that technique).

I then painstakingly colored in the flats and the line art, making sure to color the lines outlining the characters so they matched the fill color, giving the art a flat, "Samurai Jack" feel.

I then selected sections and started laying in gradient layers to add subtle variation in color for the FG rats, darken the BG rats and color the sky in the first panel.

Another gradient layer was added to give the splash panel a warmer tone, and shading layer was added on the ox.

This is a layer of highlights and a gradient to brighten up the top right corner.

Final gradients and texture added in.

I'm finishing up the second and third back up story now. They will be showing up in the upcoming comics, to be released with the movie.

Kitten People

2011-03-10T01:09:00.000-05:00

This was a just for fun thing I colored up a few days ago...

click to enlarge

And this is me figuring out .gif animation while I can't sleep...

Enjoy :)

Valentine Ep 10 Choice Cuts

2011-03-08T23:40:00.001-05:00

This episode of Valentine contains angsty hipters and an extreme battle scene. Here are some choice screens in black and white...

Valentine is free on comixology!

Orc at Night

2011-02-25T18:47:00.000-05:00

click to enlarge
Buy the print on DeviantArt
Every morning, I try to do a 30-40 minute warm up with ink of something that I'm really in the mood to draw. While the projects I work on are all really fun, the selfish artist in me just wants to draw what I want to draw, and I've found that these sessions yield some pretty fun and interesting results (though they don't often result in a finished work). Sometimes its nice not to have the pressure of a deadline.

In any case, this piece is a result of me messing with lots of ink and acrylic white on paper. I was considering doing something more...erm...complicated with the color, but I'm actually really happy with how this quick flat treatment came out.

The design for this dapper fella came out of my sketchbook. I drew him up during the weekend while watching Mutant Hunt with a house full of friends. (I believe this movie is best experienced Mystery Science Theater 3000 style.)

I used photoshop to blow him up 200% for the ink, printed him on cheap printer paper and inked him up with chinese painting brushes on Canson Marker Pro Layout paper (which subsequently buckled like crazy under the massive amount of sumi ink and white acrylic I laid down. Thankfully, the scanner flattened it out). The final ink was scanned in 3 pieces (I like to work big, the final for this was approx 13" x 16") and cobbled in PSCS4 with the "Auto Align."

click to enlarge
Used the bitmap filter (50% threshold @ 600 dpi) on the above ink for a crisp flat. Seriously debating doing a screen print of this to get back into the habit of them, and to see how much detil I can get out of an "at home" burning process.

Murderers...

2011-02-20T08:46:00.000-05:00

click to enlarge
Ink on paper
For this show...
A Nation of Evil Men
From Wikapedia (for those of you who don't know):
Gary Michael Heidnik (November 22, 1943 – July 6, 1999) was an American murderer who kidnapped, tortured and raped six women and kept them prisoner in his Philadelphia, Pennsylvania basement.

The character "Buffalo Bill" from Silence of the Lambs was based on many serial killers, Heidnick was one of them.

ink on paper/digital color
click to enlarge
The above piece I did as a ink wash demo for the class I teach on Saturday. Quick color applied while drunk in PSCS4. Who's a cute lil' Gorgon?

click to enlarge

BUY THE PRINT THRU DeviantArt

Power Puff Go! Page Process

2011-01-28T15:41:00.000-05:00

Because I've been asked about my coloring process before, I thought I would lend some insight to you folks who enjoy using linework and flat color...

click any image to enlarge

Above is a scan of my original line art. I use black and red ink, so I can more easily separate out the line.

I then use the selective color palette to change the red line work to magenta, make the white pure white and the black pure black. I will usually need to repeat this step four or five times to make sure the line work has been converted to pure colors. (It is imprtant to do this when your document is in CMYK mode)

After I have my pure colors, I use the channel mixer to separate out the magenta and black line work. I then have 2 documents that I convert to pure black lines by making the document a bitmapped document...

black

magenta

I paste both documents into my template before I resize them (I select both layers and scale them down, as I do my inks at about 200% of final size). I still will use the pencil tool to color linework on the black and magenta layers, but doing the inks in two colors makes separating out those lines easier. The white on both of those line layers has been deleted and the lines filled with black/magenta by the paint bucket tool.

I use a 50% grey background so it is easier to see what lines I am coloring. I will often change those colors later, right now I'm concerned with getting all of the colors seperated out.

Above is the the coloring in progress. I use the pencil tool to fill out my flats because it makes for a harder edge than any paintbrush tool.

Above is the final art with tones and basic gradients added in.

And finally, the letters...

You can read Power Puff Go! at drunkduck.com.

Character Mash

2011-01-27T18:52:00.001-05:00

New projects bubbling...

...

2011-01-26T08:28:00.001-05:00

Seriously, can it be spring now?

Shrek Comic (book 2) In Stores NOW!!!!

2011-01-21T09:12:00.001-05:00

The Shrek book 2 just hit stores this month, so I thought I would post up a few pics I snapped of the finished product...

click to enlarge

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Pencils and inks by me, colors by Tim Durning
Shrek is property of Dream Works Entertainment
Published by Ape Entertainment

Recently...

2011-01-18T14:08:00.000-05:00

IYGC

2011-01-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

"WTF is going on?!" you say? Read it at Split Lip Comics

Odin

2010-12-19T08:58:00.000-05:00

click to enlarge
Graphite on Arches Hot Press
Every once in a while I make some time to do a pencil drawing. This is a Christmas present, so it was a good excuse for me to break out the pencils and Norse gods.

Concept

2010-12-13T20:51:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you do stuff that just doesn't make the final cut. The folks who commissioned this decided on going with a different artistic style, but I was still pretty pleased with it.

click to enlarge

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Can't say that I get mad when folks pass me by for a different art style (it sort of is what it is, ya know?), especially when I am pleased with what I put out. Just another piece for the ol' portfolio. (And now I can post it :D)

I tried something a little different inking wise with this, and was really happy with it (even though it took FOREVER with all those little dashes).

Human Fly

2010-12-12T10:47:00.001-05:00

Morning warm up to shake off the La Morte/PCS hangover...Lyrics are from a Cramps song with a similar title.

click to enlarge

The Bride

2010-12-08T12:27:00.000-05:00

Morning warm-up. Sketchbook drawing and PS color.

I am now sort-of debating doing a "Kill Bill" card set for the next con.

Valentine Ep 9 Ink Dump

2010-12-06T12:49:00.001-05:00

Some of my favorites...

More Sketches

2010-12-03T23:28:00.000-05:00

Current projects are somewhat hush hush, so here's more sketches from my sketchbook; badly colored in photoshop.

Sketch Brap!

2010-11-15T10:05:00.000-05:00

ink

ink & marker/pencil

ink & marker

mixed media

Tomb of Dracula on Covered

2010-10-27T12:49:00.000-04:00

I did a piece about four weeks ago for the Covered Blog based on an old cover for Tomb of Dracula. For anyone who hasn't been by this awesome blog, Covered featured reinvisionings of old comic book covers by various artists. It's a damn neat little blog, and should definitely be frequented by comic and art lovers alike.

Here's the original cover I based this off of...

Here's the ink and final piece that appears on the blog...

And yes, tatas have been added from the original version...because, why not?

Haunted Halloween Footage...

2010-10-24T12:54:00.000-04:00

Coverage of the Haunted Halloween Show opening at proximity gallery. Appearances by my mug, my boyfriend's mug, many of my fellow buddies and PCSer's mugs, and featuring some damn fine artwork. Many thanks to Sam Heimer for putting together an awesome show, and also to David Diperstein for shooting and editing this.

Hallowed Halloween, October 2010 from David Diperstein on Vimeo.

Split Lip Horror Webcomics

2010-10-21T09:02:00.000-04:00

Some of the pages I am doing for a short story that will appear on Split Lip. Pages are done black and white with marker and ink on composite paper. Tones were added digitally in Photoshop.

The story is now live. New pages up every Tuesday and Thursday.

Valentine Collection

2010-10-07T08:21:00.000-04:00

Valentine will be collected into a fat 250 pg graphic novel of eps 1-8. The digital version will be available via Comixology and Robot Comics (more news on that when it's available).

Meanwhile, here is the epub cover process...

(sketch with mock type - I didn't do the typeset for the end result, but I wanted it in there for the sketch)

(original ink and "washes". The "scorpian tail" appears at the request of the author...I like the addition of it. The final art was done on marker composite paper with sumi ink and gray prismacolor markers.)

(finished PS color)

A printed version will be made available in the months to come. Meanwhile, if you want to check out Valentine on your computer,Comixology now has it for download on your desktop/laptop!

These versions are still set up for iPhone (1 panel per page). The graphic novel has been laid out in standard comic format.

Shrek Inks

2010-09-07T11:37:00.000-04:00

A little taste of Shrek inks from book 2...

Published by Ape Entertainment

The Pit

2010-09-07T10:40:00.001-04:00

A little step by step of my piece for the PCS/Autumn Society Hallowed Halloween Show...

Final Thumbnail

Pencil

Ink

Color

Show Info:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
This October 1st - 31st the Autumn Society of Illustration, the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society and Proximity Gallery present:
HALLOWED
HALLOWEEN
Opening Reception - October 1st, 2010
October 1st - October 31st
PROXIMITY Gallery
2434 East Dauphin Street
Philadelphia, PA 19125
267.825.2949

Creeture

2010-08-27T13:02:00.000-04:00

Took a little time to do something for me. A fun little something that came out of a practice session...

See 'em big at the DA account

Val Ep8 Inks

2010-08-18T09:50:00.000-04:00

My favorites selected from the first thirty screens...

Plazow!

Valentine Sketches, Episode 8

2010-08-05T08:29:00.000-04:00

New sketches for valentine, Ep 8...hopefully done mid-month...

SanDiego Comic Con

2010-07-13T18:17:00.000-04:00

Hey Cats and Kittens! I will be attending the SanDiego Comic Con this year, and appearing at the Ape Entertainment and Kidzoic booths to promote the new Shrek Comic that I did pencils and inks for. Here's my schedule, if you want to stop by...

KIZOIC BOOTH #1703

THURSDAY, JULY 22nd
12pm to 2pm
Christine Larsen & Arie Kaplan (Shrek #1)

FRIDAY, JULY 24th
10am to 12pm
Christine Larsen & Kevin Freeman (Shrek #1)

SATURDAY, JULY 25th
10am to 12am
Christine Larsen & Arie Kaplan(Shrek #1)

12am to 1pm
Christine Larsen & Kevin Freeman (Shrek #1)

SUNDAY, JULY 26th
3pm to 5pm
Christine Larsen & Kevin Freeman (Shrek #1)

APE CENTRAL BOOTH #2103-05

THURSDAY, JULY 22nd
10am to 12pm
Christine Larsen & Kevin Freeman (Shrek #1)

SUNDAY, JULY 26th
11am to 1pm
Christine Larsen & Arie Kaplan (Shrek #1)

Hope to see you there :)

La Morté Marathon

2010-06-28T23:04:00.000-04:00

A day of ink and color...

Shrek: FCBD

2010-06-11T17:35:00.001-04:00

Pencils and inks from the past FCBD Shrek story I did for Ape Entertainment...

Now that the book is out I can post these. More up when the first, long book hits shelves...

Courtesan

2010-06-05T11:17:00.000-04:00

Recently I was asked to do a pin-up illustration for Courtesan Clothing which included revised hand lettering on their original logo. The following is the sketch-ink-finish process for that...

The approved sketch

A couple of the color studies

The final color study

The final colored art

Initial logo pencil sketches based off of their existing logo. I put a variety of "c"s in there so I could get a feel for the look they wanted to achieve.

Revised logo sketches based on comments.

Final logo ink

Comic Page Process: La Morté

2010-05-29T19:36:00.001-04:00

From Sketch to pencil to ink to finished color...

CLICK HERE to read the La Morté Sisters on Zuda Comics

Deck Heads

2010-05-04T09:33:00.001-04:00

My finished skateboard for the "Deck Heads" show coming up this Friday. Done in Acrylic Paint. Kitten in photo 3 for scale.

El Torro

2010-04-27T22:11:00.001-04:00

The following is a step by step for the process of creating my piece for the PCS Domo Arigato: Robot Show.

I do very detailed sketches on graph paper to get a feel for the layout.

The ink of the main image - the girl and mechanical bull - was done seperately from the type in ink wash on arches hot press watercolor paper.

Everything was assembled and colored on the computer. I fudged with the type to make it simpler and fit in the space nicer.

If you live in the greater Philadelphia area, you should save the date of May 7th and see this and many other amazing pieces at the PCS Domo Arigato Show, and join us for the PCS Art Crawl!

Philadelphia Cartoonist Society Art Crawl

2010-04-22T17:52:00.001-04:00

Myself as well as a number of amazing local and international artists will be participating in and attending these shows. I highly suggest coming out!

The info:

The info in HTML...
Friday May 7th starting @ 6pm:

DOMO ARIGATO
(a robot show)
@ Brave New Worlds
42 N. 2nd Street
Old City

Deck Heads
(the finest in skateboard art)
@ Exit Skate Shop
825 N. 2nd Street
N. Liberties

Dirtballs in Love
(work by Jeffro)
2434 East Dauphin Street
Fishtown

Also an important note: The Philadelphia Cartoonist Society is now found at phillytoon.ORG due to the fact that a home improvement guy bought out our old url...update your links, kids :)

FCBD

2010-04-21T01:01:00.000-04:00

Just received my copies for FCBD from Ape Entertainment's Shrek/Penguins of Madagascar book. Gotta say, I'm pretty psyched.

Pencils and inks by me. Colors by the amazing Tim Durning.

Paracinema Magazine

2010-04-08T17:52:00.000-04:00

I was contacted about a month ago by Paracinema Magazine for use of my Alien illustration.

Fortunately, it was something that wasn't lost on the old hard drive (because it was so old, that I actually put it on disk a long while back when I was archiving).

Here's the cover of Paracinema this month and a link to the website where you can get it:

Paracinema Magazine

And I should be getting a copy in the mail soon, according to the publisher. I find it mildly appropriate that this is my first editorial cover ever.

Speed Paint

2010-04-01T09:08:00.000-04:00

Anther morning speed paint from my sketchbook...

Sketch Dump

2010-03-30T17:24:00.000-04:00

Some sketchbook stuff and a speedpaint based off of one of them...

Artist Trading Cards

2010-03-16T22:49:00.000-04:00

A few days ago I stopped in Dick Blick and saw that they sold Bristol Board Artist Trading Card packs, so I picked one up. Now they've become a staple morning "warm up" before I start in on work. Now that I'm working on so much long-term stuff, it's nice to do a piece that I can finish in 10-15 minutes.

This is a sampling from the past few days.

Done in ink/marker/colored pencil. 2.5" x 3.5"

Reading with Pictures

2010-02-25T11:00:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd share a link to the "Reading With Pictures" Kickstarter site. RwP promotes reading in the classroom through comics. I have a 2 page story (done for charity) in here alongside quite a few high rollers. I suggest preordering, since most of the sales will be done in that way. I don't intend to have a large number of personal copies, and this will help to promote their sales through Diamond.

So, visit Reading with Pictures on Kickstarter

Preview sketch:

Adventure Time!

2010-02-19T16:06:00.000-05:00

My piece for this collection being put together by the Autumn Society.

Predator

2010-02-12T07:45:00.000-05:00

Because I haven't had a chance to do a personal piece this week, I thought I would upload an old sketch to keep the blog alive. It's our favorite sucka killin' alien.

I really love drawing in pencil, and try to do a very detailed pencil-thing whenever I have the chance. This was drawn about a year ago while I was watching a self initiated predator marathon.

Also played around with a color version. Not so amazing, but a fun exercise...

Predator belongs to 20th Century Fox

Queen of Hearts

2010-02-05T08:31:00.001-05:00

Continuing my 1 new piece/week. Ink on watercolor paper with washes...

I think I may do another, less "painterly" version of this when I have the time. I feel like this got a little muddy in spots.

And here's that...

I like this version much better. Muddy colors make me sad :(

Cyclops

2010-01-28T13:57:00.000-05:00

Because I have a relatively light week freelance-wise, I decided to do a quick personal piece today. Part of my New Year's resolution has been to do one personal piece a week. Better late than never.

Enjoy...

(ink and wash with winsor newton No. 2 brush and big sumi brushes on watercolor paper)
Too many layers in photoshop

Valentine Ep. 3 on Robot Comics

2010-01-22T13:45:00.000-05:00

I'm a little behind on this update, but valentine episode 3 is now available through Robot Comics for iPhone, Droid and iTunes downloads. 99 cents/issue is quite the deal!

Get it here: Valentine on Robotcomics

Previews

Shrek

2010-01-09T00:11:00.000-05:00

Finally I can let folks know that I'm working on this: EXCLUSIVE: Ape Entertainment Brings Dreamworks To Comics (CBR News)

Unfortunately, I won't be able to post any sketches or art until books hit shelves, but here is what was released (pencils and inks by me, colors by Tim Durning)

Fresh Ink

2010-01-08T21:46:00.000-05:00

Save a few that I may post in my blog, no one will ever see Valentine's original inks, since the episodes are in color. I'm especially happy with episode 4, which I'm currently working on. It has to be my favorite to date, but we'll see if I still feel that way in 8 days when I finish inking it.

The inks are relatively small, about 8x11, but considering they're to be displayed on an iPhone or Driod, they're rather large in relation to the finish. There's also about 67-70 of these bad boys for me to get done for each episode, so I can't get too crazy. In any case, here are some inked screens with details, for my fellow b&w hounds out there. It's an under appreciated production choice, if you ask me.

Holiday Sketches

2009-12-29T22:01:00.000-05:00

Playing around with various filters and blending techniques that I happened upon on accident during a job. New possibilities :)

Inks by me, coloring in PSCS4:

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-24T08:28:00.000-05:00

Wishing you and yours the very best this holiday season!

Ichresta: V.1

2009-12-17T19:45:00.001-05:00

A wrap-around book cover for Smashed Rat on Press. Illus + design by me.

Valentine

2009-12-03T17:53:00.000-05:00

Ink and finish for the Comixology project I'm working on...

Devil Wheels...

2009-11-23T10:25:00.000-05:00

Colored this for a demo that I gave to my Foundation Illustration students. 13" wide marker and ink.

Sneak Peaks

2009-11-17T15:37:00.001-05:00

Been working relatively continuously on La Morté Sisters and Valentine (Coming out on Comixology around Jan). Thought I'd post some stuff up from that...

La Morté...

Valentine...

Finer Things

2009-11-02T10:37:00.000-05:00

Two pieces that I did for the PCS group show this week at Brave New Worlds in Old City...

(marker and ink)

(watercolor and ink)

La Morté Sisters

2009-10-19T21:49:00.000-04:00

The comic I've been slaving away at just went live on Zuda Comics. New pages out every friday. It's free to read...

La Morte Sisters

Enjoy :)

New Stuff

2009-09-15T08:48:00.001-04:00

Finish from La Morté Sisters, out with Zuda Comics October 1st and a preview of Valentine, the story I'm doing that will be out on Comixology (first issue is free) due out in November.

This is why I will not be leaving my house for the next few weeks...

I'll have links up when the comics are live.

Blarg...

2009-08-18T03:19:00.000-04:00

So, been a whole world of hectic lately, but far be it from me to neglect my little blog (what with all the readers I have and all). Just updated the old e-homestead (The Larsen Project Dot Com), and with that came a new look for the blog. Everything still needs little tweaks, but that tweaking will have to wait until I hammer through some freelance work.

The teaching starts soon as well...so the e-verse may hear less from me for a time. I'll be sure to throw up some sketches soon.

T-Shirst For A Cause

2009-07-11T17:49:00.000-04:00

The T-Shirt I designed is now available at thropic.com

Sexy Time

2009-07-07T09:35:00.000-04:00

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

These books that I illustrated for Smashed Rat on Press are available on lulu.com for anyone who wants something a little sci-fi and kinky, with some fun interior illustrations for, erm, visual stimulation.

Prints & T's

2009-07-01T18:04:00.000-04:00

My Transfprmers "Starscream" print is now available at monsterbot.com: STTTAAAARRRRSCREAM!

(click to enlarge)

This t-shirt print will be available at thropic.com in the next week. Thropic.com sells t-shirts to benefit charities and non-profits. I was contacted by one of the co-creators to do t-shirt art for The Valerie Fund, a non profit that raises money for health care services to kids with cancer and blood disorders.

I'll have a post up when it goes on sale.

Also, I am eternally sad? Carnival of the Dead is appearing in a compilation graphic novel that is presently for purchase at: Indy Planet. Don't know what the heck I'm talking about? Here are some excerpts...

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

Wizard World Philly

2009-06-23T21:44:00.001-04:00

Play

2009-06-21T21:14:00.000-04:00

Ink/Watercolor/marker

Ink and Marker

Yay girls with eye coverings.

Pretty Girls

2009-06-18T09:54:00.000-04:00

Some hot chicks that came off of the drawing board recently...

Enjoy!

Brain Damage

2009-06-09T14:03:00.001-04:00

The second book in the sci-fi erotica trilogy all finished with typesetting in place. Four breasted women rule (dispite their unnaturally elongated torsos). P.S. Note to self: chains suck.

(click to enlarge)

In other news...

Just finished revising the website for the old 9-5. I'm pretty happy with the coding in this one (my first taste of PHP). Makes me want to revise my own website. Maybe I'll get a chance one of these weekends...

Check it: Brands Imaging Website

And Pierre Robert is rockin' some good ones today. It's Who time, huzzah!

Snap!

2009-06-08T22:58:00.000-04:00

A few lovely snapshots from the new camera as me and the boyfriend took a leisurely Sunday drive up Delaware Ave...

And a few of me playing with Photobooth. I will admit that I rather like the lighting...

More random shots from the new camera...

Blub Blub

2009-05-31T09:52:00.000-04:00

Ol' Cyrus gets it again. The back cover for TS Season 2 Volume 1...

Magic and Scares

2009-05-21T09:23:00.000-04:00

Well, the show that the 9-5 had came and went without me updating (because I've been busy like that), but the opening was nothing too fancy pants. Me and the boyfriend arrived too late to partake in fine cheeses and fruits, so we slogged down a couple of too-expensive lagers and were on our way, off to enjoy more pocket-friendly fare in beautiful Fishtownia.

Got the new Teddy Scares script! (published by Ape Entertainment) The release of the new season is in far-away October 2009, and I'm already a book deep. It's nice to be a little ahead of the game...

Sketches----->

And this is a mural that I did for a magic shop in the Northern Liberties section of Philly. A little sleight-of-hand shop called "Trick Zone."

Till next time kittens...

The Walnut Room

2009-04-21T14:25:00.000-04:00

At that place that I work we have been working on a number of pieces that will display at The Walnut Room along with local photographer Kelly Turso. Not all of my final designs made the cut, so here are the sad rejects...

Art 100% vector created by me, except for those griffins which I found in a free vector folder.

The line art for this piece was done in illustrator (vector). Flat coloring and halftones accomplished in photoshop. Shunga art in bg found on google (created before 1900, so it's royalty free).

Don't know when the show is happening yet. I'll make with the posting when I am more in the know.

In the News

2009-04-18T10:36:00.000-04:00

Here's a writeup I rec'd in the City Paper (a free, city-wide distributed rag) for my March show. They even put a little picture of Hercules vs. The Astro Zombies up in there. This made my day today :)

Heads Up

2009-04-17T12:12:00.001-04:00

Did some illustration and design for a marijuana themed card game that is putting an ad in Aura Magazine. I'm not really into that sort of thing, but illustrating and designing for that particular market is always fun. It hearkens back to the days when I worked as a designer for a tobacco wholesaler. Memories.

Sketch Dump

2009-03-28T20:27:00.001-04:00

Throwing up some sketchbook stuff...

Tentecles, Buxom Venutians and Astro Zombies

2009-03-01T14:31:00.000-05:00

I'm in the home stretch with the pieces for this, and now I'm starting to get excited.

Who's Watching the Watchmen?

2009-02-12T14:28:00.000-05:00

This piece will be hanging with other pieces by fellow PCS (Philly Cartoonist Society) members at the IMAX theatre in King of Prussia. It'll be there for the next 2 months, so check it out if you can! The folks at the place I work printed them as 24 x 36" banners.

Spreads Like Butter

2009-02-06T15:22:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd upload some of the recent design work I've been doing for that part time design job. Actually, doing their self promotion is pretty fun, and they had some really good photography to work with, which I love.

These are some random spreads from the press package I've been working on. I'm sure there will be some changes, but it's 99.5% there, methinks.

And I'm off to the Abe Lincoln show tonight to bask in the glory of ol' luck (er, perhaps more unlucky) 16. And tomorrow I make the long haul to that more recognized metropolis for the NYC Comic-con. Busy weekend for me!

Hearts, kiddies!

Be Honest

2009-02-04T09:07:00.000-05:00

The Philadelphia Cartoonist Society will be putting on a show to celebrate president's day and Abe Lincoln's 200th b-day. So all you fans of ol' Abe Lincoln best get yourselves to Brave New Worlds this Friday!

Here's a copy of the press release:

Brave New Worlds Comics, voted Best Comic Shop in Philadelphia by the City Paper, in partnership with the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society, a group of super talented local illustrators, proudly present the gallery show 200 years in the making: “HONEST ABE”! A show meant to Commemorate and Celebrate the 200th birthday of our nation’s most beloved presidents and faces. This partnership was forged after the success of the “Children of the Watchmen” show held in November, with the sole purpose of bringing together over twenty artists and their unique visions of our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, and placing them against the backdrop of the comic books in the heart of Olde City, Philadelphia. There was never a more perfect fit for the larger than life Honest Abe!

The opening will feature over twenty pieces by artists each with their own take on the classic gaunt faced, beard growing, mole having, stovepipe hat wearing, slavery abolishing, Jefferson Davis’ butt kicking, rail splitting, man, myth and legend that is our one and only “HONEST ABE”!

From 6pm –9pm come out to Brave New Worlds Comics at 45 North 2nd Street in Olde City, across from the Arden Theatre (between Market and Arch streets), for a chance to be one of the first to check out all these fantastic takes on Lincoln and maybe even wish him a "Happy Birthday, Mr. President” while you are at it, actual 200th birthday is February 12, 2009 (save the date).

Opening: Friday February 6th from 6-9pm
@Brave New Worlds Comics
45 North 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(Between market and Arch Streets)

Contact Brave New Worlds @ 215.925.6525 or check out www.Bravenewworldscomics.com
Contact the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society at www.phillytoon.com

Crabby

2009-01-30T13:15:00.001-05:00

Thought I'd post up a few pages for "Crablegs," the 5 page-er I'm doing for the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society. I finally finished up all the toning and lettering last night.

For Sale

2009-01-19T14:54:00.000-05:00

The erotica book that I did illustrations for is up on lulu.com. Support! A Harlot of Venus

Vampires

2009-01-19T09:15:00.001-05:00

Some finals from this weekend.

Vampire Boarding School

2009-01-16T11:03:00.001-05:00

Thought I'd post up some of the sketches I did for "The La Morte' Sisters, the comic I'm working on with some writer types from DC's Zuda line.

Harlots and Crabs

2009-01-08T09:22:00.001-05:00

I've been having a pretty productive week. The PCS 5 pager is coming along. Erotica book illustrations are nearly done and I'm already into the art for a comic proposal to Vertigo (written by a couple of fine gents that have done work on the Zuda website). So, I'm in pretty good spirits all in all.

I like how this revised version came out, more true to my halftone love. Also, I realize how much I need a extra large scanner, as I really enjoyed working oversized for this, and I like the results.

That kid caught it good in this one! I'm submitting this without the text, because I don't want to spoil the story, and I probably won't post any pages after page 3. So, really, this is just to wet your whistle until the book comes out.

Until next time, kiddies...