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Coloring Book Now Available!

Panda just made new coloring book for hoomans available on panda shop. For some reason, hoomans like putting colors on black and white panda drawings. In panda’s opinion, black and white drawings look just fine. Or if hoomans have no money, hoomans can sign up for email list and receive free five-page sample of coloring book that has black and white drawings that look just fine as black and white drawings.

World Cup Pandas

Panda watch World Cup on TV and don’t understand hoomans. Panda did not see any cups at all. Just a bunch of hoomans moving ball with feet. It looks too tiring. Panda congratulates French hoomans for moving ball with feet the best.

Bicycle Pandas

Panda like the bicycles, but bicycles better with friends.

Dragon Dog Pandas

Dogs throw the best party, because dogs always pay for catering.

Smash Pandas Commission

Hooman ask panda if panda could dress up like Smash Brothers characters from video game.  Panda guess hoomans like video game, but panda don’t understand why sitting in front of TV and pushing buttons is fun. That don’t sound fun, it sounds weird and unproductive. What is productive is sleep. Doctor say sleep very important and the more sleep panda get, the more panda is productive. So panda is going to get A LOT of sleep.

Business Pandas

Like hoomans, panda have bills to pay. Panda’s work is no different than hoomans. Some all days are hard, but panda don’t mind, so long as panda get paid so panda can buy bamboo to eat.

Hoomans can see business pandas on display at Eastern Cafe from March to April. Go visit and buy coffee to support cafe, and then give coffee to panda.

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Year of Dog! Dog is good friend because dog pays for panda’s drinks. Even if dog doesn’t know.

“The Panda is Fat” and ECCC

Panda has special announcement, panda will release new book, “The Panda is Fat and Other Panda Haikus” at ECCC, March 1-4. Panda will be selling book for hoomans visiting convention. The book is panda’s biggest book with over 90 panda pages with drawings and haikus. Panda will have hooman pet hooman Nolen update the shop because he too busy drawing panda’s book lazy. Below are some samples from the best book in the world.

Panda will also be at Table J4 in Artist Alley. Panda drew directions in map below, panda is so talented. My pet hooman will be chained to at the table to help you with all your panda needs. Come visit table and show some panda love, or else.

Panda out.

Monsters and Dames 2018

I’m happy to announce that my entry was accepted into Emerald City Comicon’s Monsters and Dames art book. This year’s entry also includes a cast of three compared to my last couple of entries.  I will also be tabling at the ECCC artists alley again Mar 1-4, so if you plan on purchasing the art book, come see at Table J4 so I can sign your book. You can read more about the details and other artists in the book on ECCC’s Monsters and Dames page.

Monsters and Dames 2018

It took a while for me to land on a concept. I knew I was going to do something with northern lights, so my first concept had glowing fish flying out of a lake and forming the lights in the sky. After trying out several compositions, I felt like the idea wasn’t working for me. I was also starting to run out of time to work on the piece, so I decided instead to go with a different idea for the figure in the sky.

I also doodled a bit with the colors to figure out what the end result could look like. Another reason for abandoning the fish concept was because I didn’t want to make this piece feel like a continuation from last year’s entry which was also on a lake.

I started playing around with the lines of the northern lights and ended up with a stag-like creature. Northern lights have a flowing quality to them, and it felt like the stag was a good solution.

Lastly, I gave the Panda Courier a winter makeover and included the red panda just because I feel like it’s about time he gets included in one of these pieces.

Oh, and one more thing. Next week, I might be taking over a certain Instagram account. You’ve been warned.

Holiday Pandas

‘Tis the season for holiday pandas!

I’ve been posting some daily sketches during Advent season on my social media channels. You can subscribe to any of the following feeds to see the latest pieces.

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Also, back in 2014 I did a series of holiday pandas based on the #Illo_Advent prompt on Twitter. You can check out my old drawings in this post. Happy holidays, everyone!

Inktober 2017: Red and Black

It’s that time of year again! Time to pop bust out the ink and brushes for Inktober. Last year’s drawings took me a long time to finish, I ended up finishing sometime in mid November. This year, I went with smaller sketches so that I could finish them in time especially given how busy life has been lately.

I also wanted to try out a bottle of red sumi ink that I’ve had for a while. It says “red sumi” on the label, but it’s more of a reddish orange. I made the drawings as little vignettes of the Panda Pals, and looking for any potential stories I can tell with them.

I’ve also added all of the originals on my store. Enjoy!

Dreamlander Interview

Earlier this year, I was interviewed by Paul Hong, aka Dreamlander, who does these great video interview essays on people and passion. He was able to record some of footage while I was tabling at ECCC as well as provide some sneak peeks into my messy workspace at home. I’d say he did a smashing job, although, the guy in the video could put on a few pounds. Check out the video below:

If you’re wondering why I had a bandage on my left thumb during the interview, I had a little bit of a cutting accident with a paper cutter. Don’t worry, it’s all healed; let’s just say it’s not as big as my right.

During the interview, I also made a sketch which I made into a  timelapse video of the panda pals below. If you want to see more of my timelapse videos, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel.

You can watch more of Paul’s other videos on his YouTube channel, also give him a follow on Instragram.

Lastly, I just received my table assignment for Geek Girl Con! You can find me at Table A103, I’ll make a separate post with a map. It’ll be my first convention after my break, so it’s time to roll up my sleeves and get back to work. Have a great start to your week, everyone!

UPDATE: I just added the piece to my store as an art print. You can check out the link here.

Refocus

I have a hard time relaxing. I wear a nightguard when I sleep.  I enjoy painful deep-tissue massages. My brow is naturally furrowed. When I’m at the beach, I’m constantly checking to make sure I have enough sunscreen to cover my pasty body, and when I lie down, I keep an eye open for anyone looking to steal my belongings. And even though I see the need to relax more often, I don’t like taking many breaks away from art. Though recently, life has forced me to take one.

Don’t worry, the reason is a good one; a very good one, actually. A couple of months ago, I became a father, and there is so much to unpack from that statement alone. Even during the pregnancy, I couldn’t anticipate how profound an impact having a child would have on my life.  The moment my son was born, I felt like I had stepped into a new world with new realities. And while the transition to fatherhood has been such a blessing, it comes with its own set of needs, needs that take priority over being an artist.

To help me during this adjustment, I wanted to write a short post as a little self-therapy. When I say “self-therapy”, it’s not that I’m struggling with being a father (I am), there’s just been a lot to think about these past few months. Part of it is the process of sorting through priorities now that the time available to make art has become much more limited. In terms of art, there are certain projects that have been on my backburner for a while, and now there’s a sense of urgency to finish them. But even art takes a backseat compared to the responsibilities of being a father and husband.

Because I didn’t draw that much during the break, I’ve got a lot of rust to shake off. I feel like I’m a better artist than I was a year ago, but I wouldn’t say I feel that confident in my art at the present.  Lately, I’ve been revisiting some basics to help build my confidence back, and while it looks rough, I have hope the practice will pay off. Eventually I’d like to show some of the progress of that journey, but right now, things are a bit messy. (Then again, this post isn’t what you call a literary masterpiece.)

Anyways, it’s an exciting time. I look forward to sharing more with you in the months to come. Thanks for listening.

-N