A series featuring men and the lady monsters who love to eat them.
February 20, 2025
With the completion of Phineas and the Harpies, the Maneaters Mythology project is finally complete!
This was by far the simplest to accomplish - no overlap between the figures making arrangement in space easy and I assembled the figures individually instead of in layers on the page, which allowed me to check them against the digital drawing to make sure I had the alignment generally correct. I think this one also has the best balance of detail and interest of the three. Boy this project has been a...learning experience...and while it is disappointing that I could not achieve my original vision for it, I'm happily surprised by the direction that it did take. Here's the series all together!
February 18, 2025
Finished the collage version of the 2nd sphinx design. Pretty pleased with the results after having to redo when the original paper wouldn't behave (the white went transparent after I applied glue). I finally feel like I have a system down for these and should be able to knock out the remaining one in the next day or two. The end is in sight!
Basically my system is acrylic pain mixed directly on cardstock to match the general color and value of the digital design, applied with a mind toward achieving a variety of textures. The, transfer big shapes via carbon paper to painted paper, cut with scissor and craft knife, then stick down with glue stick in an amount that holds without being too stuck to move around. Glue down permanently with matte liquid glue, add details (can mostly eyeball these). Apply a top coat of matte glue to make sure everything is firmly affixed and cover any visible gluestick slime. It also protects agains UV! I'll probably switch to regular printer paper once the project is done, since the carstock has a tendency to flash white when cut at an angle with a craft knife.
February 9, 2025
Back to the drawing board with this design. The shapes were just not as clear and clean as I'd like for a collage. I also made an absolute mess of the glue and ended up having so myuch random blobs of sheen all over that I used it as a test piece to see how sealing with mod podge matte would affect the texture (badly).
Not to be deterred, I came up with a design that I think has clearer shape language and less wonky anatomy that I like better. It's also the best a post of mine that it's just dumb Disney commentary has ever done on Twitter. I guess a lot of people want a gal like this!
February 2, 2025
Honestly don't think my skill level is up to this lino project, so instead of abandoning the design entirely, I made it into a papercut and like it a lot. I used mulberry paper for the white, red, and black, which I tinted with india ink, then applied to a medium thickness brown kraft paper. The different textures are subtly interesting and this way I was able to achieve the crisply distinct shapes that I wanted.
Now that I have a method worked out, the remaining designs should be pretty quick to achieve. I'll go back to lino once this and a commission in the queue is complete, but probably for a design simpler to achieve in the medium.
January 28, 2025
Pulled 8 prints tonight. I feel like I'm fighting this inconsistent, goopy ink more than I should be, but I dont want to fuss with oil based ones if I don't have to.
The best ones of the night still lack the sharp details in the hair and eyes so my goal for next time is to get better at those.
January 17, 2025
Finally on the home stretch! I got the blocks carved and did a few tests to check colors and alignment. I have some high spots to knock down and need to practice with getting good ink coverage, but at this point I'm limited by not having a press. I do plan to order one at the beginning of February since I have this and the two other designs in the queue.
January 11, 2024
Started cutting lino for the cerberus print
Getting everything to print without gaps is probably going to be the biggest challenge since there's no outline to cover up imperfections. Also its my first multicolor print so lots to learn. The process of carving is very satisfying, if a little rough on the hands and back. I do want to get a press to help with consistent print quality but that's $300 that I don't want to spend post Christmas. Baren it is!
December 21, 2024
Finalized monster designs! I'm pretty pleased with how cohesive they feel while still being individually interesting. I've been trying to shift to working more decoratively and they are representative of that direction.
This will be my first ever multicolor print. The white, red, and dark brown will each get their own blocks and the tan will be a toned paper. I do still need to source a press in order to fix my inconsistency issues. Sounds like a Christmas present for myself ^_~
December 12, 2024
Finished the design for Cerberus, now with Persephone and did a design for Phineas and the Harpies.
I'm going to bring the sphinx design more in line with the other two, then will call the design phase complete.
December 5, 2024
Worked a bit on a design for Cerberus. It's not exactly on theme (I want devouring women!) but it was still a cool idea and visually cohesive. I need to integrate Persephone somewhere (?)
November 24, 2024
So far I've finished the design for a man eating sphinx. All my art supplies are currently packed and in storage while I'm in the middle of a move, so I can't start carving the block for a few more weeks.
