Thank you!

A big thank you to everyone who has commented on my art posts. I read each and every one. Thanks from the bottom of my heart!

BBC Sherlock_Sketch Batch

Sketches I did while watching some BBC Sherlock.

Ella at the Ball

Here is another piece for my illustration portfolio.

Illustration ©Jessa Sininger

Never Open the Door to a Wizard

Here is the newest illustration I did. I wanted to make the light the hero of the piece and I stuck with the basic complementary colors of yellow and purple. As usual saturated colors and light are not spared. Enjoy!

Painter/Photoshop
© Jessa Sininger

A Charming Meeting

This is another illustration from my series entitled "Investigation of a Fairy Tale". It's a retelling of Snow White as a murder set in the Victorian Era. An unknown woman was found dead on the cobblestone street with what appears to be an apple in her outstretched hand.

Sketches

Here is a sketch from my upcoming art book and some fanart of the Nickelodeon show The Legend of Korra.

More on Comic Pitch

A page and the cover for a Comic Pitch.

Images © Jessa Sininger

Pitch

Here's some more work on a pitch I'm involved with.

Image © Jessa Sininger

Announcing My Two Webcomics!

Thorns


A dangerous curse that even the weavers of fairy tales couldn’t break.

“Thorns” is a Webcomic about a century’s old cursed vagabond prince from another world who’s ending is just the beginning when he meets Isabella, a normal human girl working at a coffee shop. Suddenly she is pulled into the curse and demons that control his life. Will she believe in the truth of fairy tale’s in time to help him? Will it even matter?

Do you think you really know a story? A fairy tale perhaps. This is the modern story of Beauty and the Beast completely re-imagined…forget everything you thought you knew…

READ THE COMIC HERE:

Watch the trailer to the Thorns Webcomic here: http://youtu.be/aj_19bN6vQU


Apartment 4311


Apartment 4311 follows the life of a Grim Reaper called Death (aka D). He is on the constant search for a new roommate to help pay the rent in his high rise New York apartment. The only problem is he has a low tolerance for annoyance and one touch from his bony finger is the last thing one ever sees. How many roommates does it take to make a Grim Reaper happy…

READ THE COMIC HERE:

"Thorns" is a fairy tale in the genre of Supernatural/Romance/Fantasy/Adventure. It's geared toward girls mostly so be forewarned of some Angst. Although please don't let that deter you since the quality of the comic is high. If you enjoy my art you'll enjoy the look of Thorns.
"Apartment 4311" is a more high brow semi adult satire of a story. If you can't handle the thought of a grim reaper killing people this is not the comic for you. However, if you enjoy some dark humor head over to Apartment 4311. Although this comic doesn't show any blood or graphic violence (so it's rather tame).

When the Neighbors Decide to Party

Yes, I kid you not this is me when it happens. By the time my head hits the pillow I'm exhausted from the days work. Luckily the neighbor I share a wall with moved out. It's been really peaceful at night lately. However, it's only a matter of time before new neighbors come in. Crosses fingers for someone quiet.

Inking Process

Here's a look at my inking process. I used some calligraphy brushes with an assortment of different sized tips. It's a dangerous medium to master.

Investigation of a Fairy Tale Flats

Added some flats and textures to the pieces. Trying to figure out a painting style I want to go with for this series...

Centaur Story Book Page 5

She would spend her morning days sitting in the trees with the meadow larks listening to their love songs. How she wished she had someone special.
Her nights were filled with watching the pine fairies dance and speak although never hearing their tender voices with her silly small ears.

Here is another inked page from my story book. The story is about a human girl living amongst a tribe of centaur. It's all about her wanting to fit in amongst them.

Centaur Story Book Page 6

Finally one day she asked her friends. How can I be like you? I want 4 graceful legs to prance on, ears to hear the gentle talk of the pine fairies, and someone to love me just like the meadow lark.
The others laughed at her. You are not special enough to be part of us. You were born to live alone.
How do I become special? she asked.
They whispered amongst each other. You must climb the tallest hill and ask the great lord of the night stars to grant your wish. If your heart is pure you shall get what you want.
She smiled happily and set off for the hill.


This is a inked page from my story book I wrote along with the words for that page. It's going to be colored in a washed flat color look. The story is about a human girl living amongst a tribe of centaur. It's all about her wanting to fit in amongst them.

Miyazaki's Girls

Here is the next genre batch of sketches. I absolutely love Miyazaki/Ghibli movies (Spirited Away is my fav). The characters are so loveable and fun to draw. Can't wait for Arrietty!

Cinderella

This is an Illustration based on the Fairy Tale "Cinderella" in my vision.

As with all the other Illustrations in this collection I'm doing my influence on the original stories. This is my third illustration from the Cinderella story. I don't know how it got to be this many! I suppose the story is just rich enough to pull enough inspiration from. This turned out to be one of those fun pieces you enjoy painting. I really wanted to work with a restricted color story again (blues and purples) and tackle another night scene. I took advantage of bounced light as well. Hope you enjoy. On to the next Illustration!

Photoshop
8 hours
© Jessa Sininger

A Charming Meeting

This is another illustration from my series entitled "Investigation of a Fairy Tale". It's a retelling of Snow White as a murder set in the Victorian Era. An unknown woman was found dead on the cobblestone street with what appears to be an apple in her outstretched hand.

This is the ink version. It will be colored next.

Mirror Mirror

"There now dear, look at that lovely reflection. I'd say you’re the fairest one out there in that dress. Able to catch the eyes of someone special, I'd wager," breathed the seamstress.

This is another illustration from my series entitled "Investigation of a Fairy Tale". It's a retelling of Snow White as a murder set in the Victorian Era. An unknown woman was found dead on the cobblestone street with what appears to be an apple in her outstretched hand.

This is the ink version. It will be colored next.

The Window Seat

A fun simple background painting.

Webcomic Teaser

My Webcomic launches this March! Stay Tuned!

Ride On Prince

Sorry for the lack of updates. Hopefully this makes up for it. This is an extension to my Fairy Tale Illustration Series. Although this isn't a specific Fairy Tale it stays within the realm. Enjoy!

Comic Pitch Roughs

These are some roughs for a comic pitch I'm working on at the moment.

How to Draw Long Hair

I'm doing a series of instructional art videos on how to draw. Here is the first bracket on "How to Draw Long Hair."

I'm so sorry about the sound quality. It does get a bit high in range and hisses. It gets better as you go on. I will fix this in the next video I upload. Please try to bear with it as much as you can or just mute my voice. Thanks.

Page Sketches

This is a character for one of my side comics.

Artist Tips From Yours Truly

I've decided to compile all my artist tips that I tweet on my twitter account. These are tips that I have learned as I go about doing art. If you want to see more future art tips from me or odd posts about yellow shoes follow my twitter account here http://twitter.com/#!/JessaSininger I hope these are of help.

Artist Tips of the Day:

Never try to be clean with your drawings. It forces your brain into a state of fear to not make mistakes. Dirty up the page and smudge it to your hearts content! You can always clean it up when your done.

When using photo pose reference shrink it down to thumbnail size to study. It will train your creativity to grow and make it so your not dependent on copying.

When sketching try using the side of lead to draw with. It will push gestures more & will exercise the ability to control a drawing.

The secret to drawing realistic hair is to treat it exactly like a piece of cloth. That includes draping the hair.

Lighting within a painting is one of the most crucial things in a piece...if it lacks a lighting scheme it lacks life.

When painting a composition don't go overboard.Too many textures/patterns can clutter a piece. Keep it simple so it can read.

When watching movies pay attention to the colors in the scenes as a whole. This will help with coming up with color keys for your paintings.

When drawing long hair think of it like a ribbon wrapping around for construction then start detailing. Don't create uniform lines they should be simple and done with a purpose to show the foundation of the hair. Don't create lines for the sake of lines!

Don't be afraid to scribble on the paper. Loose gestures offer appealing designs.

Take some time to think about the overall colors you are using in your paintings. Do they fit...are they appealing...

When painting eyes bleed a little color of the iris into the pupil. It will make the eyes more soulful.

When painting make sure you are keeping an eye on the thumbnail of it. If it pops as a small image it will pop as a whole!

Surprise

This is an Illustration I did using the cutout style.

Fantasy Sketch

Sketch I did before work this morning.

Hades and Persephone

Back in high school I spent many years at the public library in my spare time reading all I could about Greek Myth. It's my favorite region religion/mythology. My favorite story was definitely Hades and Persephone.

I wanted to incorporate some Art Nouveau into my style for an Illustration based on Greek Myth couples. This is the first in the series. I really studied Alphonse Mucha for this piece. If you really want to expand your knowledge and challenge yourself take on a different style or design. The big task on this was pulling back and being strategic about simplicity and embellishing.

I chose to think of each Greek God as a color (ie-if they were a color what color would they be). Hades takes on the ever surprising black to display not only mourning and loss but a somber disposition. Persephone, being the daughter of Demeter (Seasons) had to take on green to signify growth, life, and earth. I also added a tribal element to the designs giving each God a painted pattern on their skin. By choosing to go with the color theme it really restricts you to choose the right color combinations to make the piece work. It also tests your strength on how well you can place colors. I was happy to use my popular love of transparency painting (which seems to be a theme in all of my illustrations) within this piece. Also big hair is always my favorite thing to draw. Who doesn't love a great love scene. I know I do.

The Snow Queen

This is an Illustration based on the Fairy Tale "The Snow Queen" in my vision. The original story is by Hans Christian Andersen.

As with all the other Illustrations in this collection I'm doing my influence on the original stories. I went with a different rendering style with the painting taking on a more smooth look. I wanted both children to be of a normal flesh tone color and the Snow Queen herself to be almost deadlike and cold. Kay has the appearance as being bewitched by the queen herself and Gerta is to be his hero later in the story. This is a more conceptual painting based on the story of it.

Painter/Photoshop
45 hours
© Jessa Sininger

Maggie Look

These two are part of a bigger composition for an illustration I'm working on down the line.

Let Me Guess

Let me guess...you're a natural blonde!

I just realized how long its been since I've done some character sketches. I'm devoting a couple days a week during lunch at work to sketch up some fun characters.

The Princess and the Goblin Illustration

"Stay in the light, dear princess."

This is an Illustration based on the Fairy Tale "The Princess and the Goblin" in my vision. The original story is by George MacDonald.

As with all the other Illustrations in this collection I'm doing my influence on the original stories. I have been waiting to paint this Illustration for a long time now. Out of all the Illustrations lined up for this project this is my favorite take. I went with warm vs cool colors in this piece with purple and yellow being most dominant. Everything else pretty much fell into place as I kept working. I fell in love with the goblin king and enjoyed rendering him most. I'm starting to see purple tends to show up in my paintings more so now so I'll have to keep an eye on that so the pallets wont be similar. If anyone is asking about why a ball of string is in the illustration take some time and go read the story. It's cute and a fast read. You should be able to read the whole story online as well. Up next is "The Snow Queen." Stay tuned!

Painter/Photoshop
20 hours
© Jessa Sininger

Investigation of a Fairy Tale Sketch

"A curious case indeed. Almost as if the girl came straight out of a fairy tale," described the commissioner.

This is the sketch for another Illustration for my Fairy Tale Collection I am doing.

I came up with the idea of a fairy tale murder set in the Victorian age. An unknown woman was found on the cobblestone street with what appears to be an apple. The plan for this is to ink it and use a basic wash of color tones to make the piece pop. This piece is a couple down the line to get painted but I thought I'd upload the sketch for it. Enjoy!

Storybook Thumbnails

These are some of the thumbnails for my own fairy tale I've written. I will be illustrating it and using watercolor and ink to render it traditionally. There are 16 illustrations total in the book.

The Trial of Alice

This is an Illustration based on the Fairy Tale "Alice in Wonderland" in my vision. As with all the other illustrations in this collection I'm doing my influence on the original story. Word to the wise 10 characters in a single composition is hell on wheels. This piece took forever to finish. It went through many iterations till it reached this result. I wanted this pallet to be very saturated in color and take on the look of the children's story book illustrations that pop off the pages with color. Originally the Mad Hatter was to be in a tweed jacket but once I painted it it really cluttered the piece and I had to choose a more simple approach. Simplicity seemed to be the key with this busy composition so I had to pull back from doing the usual textures I love to do with clothing. I'm finally happy to shelf this for a bit and work on the next illustration on the list.

Painter/Photoshop
45 hours
© Jessa Sininger

Arie Character Sheet

This is my model sheet for one of my characters for another side comic project I'm working on. It's not affiliated with anything as of yet, but it does contain my copyright (so no stealing!). It's a short simple comic which will be only one book. I'm already having so much fun with this project.
GOBLINNAPPED © Jessa Sininger

Sketch Topic #1

We started a sketch group at my studio. The topic was "Dark Disney Princess." Now I know what your thinking...no I did not suggest this topic. Another person did but I was very happy to go with it. Who doesn't love to draw Disney! I chose to draw Jasmine since Aladdin is my favorite movie. I'll post the other topics as they get announced at work. Stay tuned!

Lamp Shade Painting

Since I haven't uploaded any new art recently this is the best I can do for now. I'm painting on a lamp shade for my room. I just recently moved to a new apartment. Life has been pretty busy as of right now. I barely get time to pick up a pencil but I hope that will change soon enough...

This is just acrylic on a typical normal lamp shade I bought from a store.

Beauty and the Beast_Two Worlds

This is an illustration based on the Fairy Tale "Beauty and the Beast" in my vision.

It's my take on the original story to Beauty and the Beast. I wanted it to show two separate worlds. Beauty's bright happy village by the sea with calm and peaceful happy workers. Then on the opposite side you have the Beast's world which is always night and the waves are rough against the castle's edge. Both roads lead to the other if you have the ability to break through the barrier of good and evil that separates it. I went with a design unlike any beast's I've seen out there. I thought to go with a more deer type look with a more heroic attire. Opposite of that is Beauty. I gave her a more normal attire of young ladies at court. The headpiece is a foreshadowing of an angel's halo to signify the good of her being in conjunction to the horror of a beast.

This was a huge undertaking for an illustration. It went through many iterations until finally I believe I'm happy with it...for now.

The Little Mermaid

This is an Illustration based on the Fairy Tale "The Little Mermaid" in my vision.

As with all the other illustrations in this collection I'm doing my influence on the original story. Here I wanted to make the mermaid of a different species than what the typical do. Her hair refused to be any color other than blue so I had to oblige. I wanted to make the "Sea Witch" a fish because their are so many in the sea and they seem somewhat docile creatures. So to say they would seem trustworthy...

I kept this color pallet harshly restricted to blues and greens. It was one of the hardest things to do to be confined to not add in foreign colors to an established color key. The goal from the start with this piece was to Keep it very simple and not over detail anything. I hope it gives it the storybook illustration feel. I always hate when I have to loose my sketch lines in my paintings so it stayed for this one.

This story in particular has always held a soft spot in my heart because I was exposed to the cartoon based on the original story as a child. I believe it was done in Japan. It affected how I viewed fairy tales in conjunction to the real stories and "Disney" so to say. Anyways on to the next!

Painter/Photoshop
6 hours
© Jessa Sininger

Peter Pan

This is an illustration based on the Fairy Tale "Peter Pan" in my vision.

I went with a dark to light technique with this piece. I wanted the "Color Light" to come directly from Peter Pan himself signifying the joy and fun of being a child (which is what he represents). I kept the surrounding colors subdued with a desaturated pleasant-ville look. Peter Pan is a wonderful story if you ever get the chance to read the real novel by J. M. Barrie.

I'm slowly but surely going down the list of my Fairy Tale Illustrations and painting them. Fifteen Illustrations total! Up next is The Little Mermaid.

Painter/Photoshop
20 hours
© Jessa Sininger

Disney Centaurs

Here is the result of my livestream I did today. The topic was Disney Princess Centaurs.

Midnight's Spell

This is an illustration based on the Fairy Tale "Cinderella".

It's one of those pieces I never want to let go of. However, the time came for Mamma to let her chick fly. This has become one of my favorites of my Fairy Tale series. In each Fairy Tale I try and go about doing it with a different style than the rest. This one was on the more time consuming side, but I am happy with the result. Going over my list it seems I've favored the Cinderella tale quite a bit with a total of 3 illustrations. This piece has gone through many iterations over time. Thank god for audio books to keep me at the desk painting.

Painter/Photoshop
30 hours
© Jessa Sininger

Invisible Jane_Comic Pages

My comic "Invisible Jane"

The story of an invisible girl that follows around Ben, a boy who is the only one who can see her. He finds out that she's his imaginary friend from his childhood. The only problem is he can't seem to remember her.

And here I embark on the magical comedic journey of...Invisible Jane! This is just a fun side comic. Nothing to come out of it except enjoyment! This is separate from my other Main Comic which is still under lock and key for the time being.

Invisible Jane © Jessa Sininger

The Glass Slipper

This is one of my illustrations from the Fairy Tale "Cinderella". I wanted to go for a more cartoonish style. I messed a bit with coloring and texture for this.

Invisible Jane Character Sheet

Here is one of my side comics I've been working on. Its called "Invisible Jane." After working on the other comic which is darker with more drama I was excited to work on something light with comedy. I am in love with Jane and her crazy personality. Comic pages coming soon for this!

Invisible Jane © Jessa Sininger