A new work for our booth at WonderCon. Had to do some Tony Stark!

Poor Mick

I've spent the last two days straight sketching the next 86 (yes, I said 86) pages of Poor Mick for the graphic novel hopefully coming out in March! Needless to say, my hand is SORE, but I'm really excited about it. The sketching is always the hardest part, because there is so much to figure out and experiment with and edit. Next up is inking, but I'm giving myself a mental break from that for a little bit; the thought of inking 86 pages makes me tired just thinking about it!

Speaking of Poor Mick, I'm going to be working on the website right after I finish part of a freelance job I'm working on, and after I thumbnail another comic. That's right, I said another comic. (Why do I do this to myself?) My co-worker is working on two (maybe three?) right now, and I shall not be beaten! Hahaha. This one's a small one, though. More on that later!

As always, thanks for tuning in, and I hope you all are having a fine December so far! Xoxo, Kat!

November

Alright kids, I'm sorry for the long, long delay. The truth is, I've tried to update this blog from my phone about three times since the last post but it keeps ... not updating. What a shame! I'll have to do it the old-fashioned way.

So here's what I've been up to lately.

Playing with a bunch of new Golden acrylic samples, I think Prussian Blue Hue and Azurite Hue are my new favorites. A commission I finally finished for Luis. I just finished these the other day. I've been pressing flowers forever and had no idea what to do with them, so I finally just slapped them on some watercolor silhouettes I was doing at the time. I rather like how they turned out!

I've also got a bunch of projects in the works, including finally setting up an official site for Poor Mick and a real updating schedule, which should happen this weekend! Which goes along nicely with the new chapters I just finished writing and now am going to start drawing. (85 more pages, agh, how am I going to get it all done...)

Also perhaps a mini comic in the future...Or two...or five...

As always, I'm much better at updating my tumblr than this blog, if only because it will actually update from my phone, so you can check there for more art updates if you are so inclined! But do check back here from time to time, especially in the future - lots of things happening after the holidays! I'm very excited!

Thanks for sticking with me, everyone! Talk to you soon, xoxo.

Printed

Working on prints today for my part of a table at APE ( alternative press expo ) this year - so exciting! I've never done anything like this, it's so strange and new. Now just waiting for the comic to be shipped!

The Sound of Silence

Allow me to dust off this blog. Whew. Guess what, I'm actually working on a piece! It's only been what, three months? Good job, Kat! It's gonna be a companion piece to this one: I feel like I could do nautical-phrase-themed pieces for a while!

Hello, June

Sometimes, in life, you sortof take a nearly-month-long hiatus. Sometimes, when your name is Kat Martin, you do it quite frequently and without meaning to.

My life's been crazy lately! I've got a (sortof) new job doing custom framing, I've been spending most of my free time with friends and helping to plan a friend's wedding, helping to organize a trip to Las Vegas, throwing a Freak Show party, dancing, eating junk food, reading a ton of books, and generally not doing anything I need to, but everything I want to at the moment. Even though it seems like I'm working a lot more, I feel like I'm having a blast!

So up there is a photo of one of the only art-related things I've done besides doodling in the sketchbook lately, and even then, I did it a while ago. It's a seadragon turning into a tree, or something. Not finished, obviously. Just pen practice. I hope to get back into the art groove very soon. Also my coworker wants me to draw a comic for his booth at a convention, so I'm trying to think of a good way to do a Mick the Sailor comic!

Computer Related

So just in case you guys didn't get enough of me around here, I went and made an art tumblr. Hopefully this will motivate me to put more stuff up, even if it's just bad doodles and sketches.

I've been really inspired to just draw lately, and though I haven't done anything really worthwhile in terms of getting myself on the road to more final pieces, I have been able to let loose and just doodle and sketch a LOT. That's always good, I think. Even if it winds up being nothing you'll ever use, at least it's awesome practice (and fun, too!).

I've also been attempting to re-learn how to use my tablet for my computer. Ugh. It's so hard. But I feel like if I get back into it I'll have no excuse not to accomplish even more art-wise, right? As of right now, my hand is so shaky and I get really bored really fast with my sketches, so I haven't actually finished even one. Anyone know of any good CGing tutorials for Photoshop, too? I tried coloring something last night and wanted to give up nearly instantly - it's been so long! I don't know what I'm doing anymore!

Well that's all for me. I'm off to Seattle for the next week, starting on Saturday. I can't wait! Nothing like going back home. See you all around!

Finished

So this guy is finally finished, framed and hung on my wall. I must say I enjoy it! I especially like the scars I added to the sperm whale's head in white ink - I'm not sure if you can really see them, but I promise, they're there. A quick recap: This was the before. Yay! Always nice to see something through to the final stages and be able to look back at the very first draft.

I spent the day watching Downton Abbey, drinking tea, and painting. It felt awesome. I also cleaned my room, did some chores, and crocheted a bit. Talk about progress!

I've been reading/watching Harry Potter a lot lately. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are, besides Fred and George of course, my favorite characters, hahaha.
Well, that's all for now. Xoxo!

Still In Progress

Apparently I can't take a decent photo of this piece to save my life. Suffice it to say that the color is way off, but hey, check it out, it's got color now! I'm nearly nearly nearly done. Can't wait. I haven't spent this much time on something in forever.

Work and Science

Here's a piece that's currently in the works. Just finished inking it, so now I can start with the painting part, aw yeah!

Been going through my shell collection - it is getting monstrous! I want to classify them all, but after browsing a few websites, I still can't seem to tell the difference between some shells and others. Also, I just learned that keyhole limpets and true limpets are two different things. Science! It's too bad I'm getting into science now, and not when I was in school when it could have saved my grades a little.

Last but not least: I happened upon a giant damaged canvas at work, managed to bring it home, and my four roommates and I decided that we should make a house-collab painting. Needless to say, it sat on the wall for a few months, white and untouched, but finally the other week we decided to go for it! With two Saturdays and the help of free brushes and paint (thanks, art store job) we managed to make a masterpiece. At least in our minds. Collab paintings are so so so much fun.

Well, that's all from me for now. But, oh! There are going to be brand new prints in the shop very soon, so keep your eyes peeled! Later!

In Progress

Here's what I'm currently working on. I'm going for extreme detail with the inking which is really rare and really hard for me, so it's taking me a million years to do. (Really, more like more than 4 hours. I'm not very patient.) Plus I'm using a dip-pen and FW Ink, which means it takes even longer, as I have to wait for it to dry so that I don't smear it everywhere (which I've already done a few times.) And yes, I tape my watercolor paper to random things like other canvases I have lying around.

My roommate and I painted our nails and made "frappuccino"s today and they were amazing. We even made some with cocoa powder, cinnamon and creme de cacao, mm mm boy. We sortof used this recipe as a guideline, but mostly made it up ourselves. So good!

This Week

I'm sick with a gnarly headcold - hopefully the medicine will kick in and I'll be able to do some art (or clean my room which desperately needs it) but until then, I'm sitting in bed and sipping coffee and dayquil. All I've got in terms of an update are a few pics from the week, so enjoy: It's finally raining in San Francisco! The best way to spend a day off is home in bed listening to rain pour outside, in my opinion. Hope everyone's doing well, and have a good weekend! xo.

New Ink + From the Sketchbook

My co-worker gave me a little jar of walnut ink to try out, and today I thought I'd give it a shot. It's awesome! It's like a watercolor and ink in one, and the perfect shade of brown.
Just finished watching the new season of Sherlock and it's incredible. So I doodled John Watson and Sherlock Holmes.

John turned out much better than Sherlock. Surprisingly. Why can't I draw you, Benedict Cumberbatch, with your amazing cheekbones?

And because I have nothing else to share, here's a few doodles from the sketchbook from lately. The pages of blind-contour people are how I keep myself entertainted while waiting for planes to board at the airport.

Mid October Already...

Well, if you're wondering what I've been doing, the answer is:
1. Going to Disneyland

(The Little Mermaid ride is so amazing! It is still my favorite Disney movie, maybe even my favorite movie period. Also we met and took a photo with Captain Hook! Check that off the Things-To-Do-Before-I-Die list! Now I've got photos with Jack Sparrow and Captain Hook!)

2. Playing with my roomie's new kitten, Snuggles!

Yes, his name is Snuggles, and yes, he is adorable, and yes, the first thing we all did when he was brought into the house was hold him up and sing the Circle of Life. Weirdos? Us?

3. Working. Boring.

4. Taking photos for Kelsey of her delicious foodings.

Also been working on some paintins; I painted beetles today, that was pretty cool. Someday I'll get my scanner back up and running and be able to show those off. Anyhow, stay awesome everyone!

The Return

If anyone is still reading this blog, hello! I have not posted in months, but I think I can officially say that my temporary hiatus is over!


I've been gone for so long for several reasons. First and foremost, I went to Paris, France with my Mom, who won a trip!! It was so amazing, we were there for a little over two weeks, and I don't think I ever stopped moving the entire time - so much to see and do, so many macarons to eat, so much amazing coffee to drink!! I took over 5000 pics, so I'll share a bunch once I finally pare them down to a decent amount.

We have also been undergoing major changes in our house - roommates moving out, new roommates moving in - I just yesterday moved into a new room myself! I painted the walls a lovely white, and I'm working on a mural on my ceiling:

Not the best photo, but I think you can get the idea - I'm doing a star chart of both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres on my ceiling. And if there are any Astrology nerds out there - yes, I will confess: I completely messed the arrangement of the constellations up. Once I realized I had been looking at my reference image wrong, I figured I'd just forget accuracy and just go for pretty, hahahaha! Also, what ceiling star chart would be complete without glow-in-the-dark stars? So, naturally, All the constellations are painted out with glow paint that looks pretty rad, if I do say so myself. Now I just have to get the strength up to do the other half... My arm is so sore, though!

Well now I have to get ready for work. Thanks for reading, and I hope I still have some followers after that long absence :) I'll have a real art update soon, I hope. I'm getting a new desk and setting up my easel as soon as I clean the mess that is my new room, so now there is no excuse to not be creative!!

Also, if anyone's looking for something awesome to spend some time reading, I've been browsing this blog, Far Out Flora, for the past two hours - We're trying to turn our backyard into a legit garden, and it's awesome to have great inspiration, especially from fellow San Franciscans!! Go check it out for some serious gardenspiration!