zettaworks

Odin Sphere Coasters

2010-07-14T12:44:00.004-04:00

So yesterday was K’s birthday. I made him some coasters. Here they are!

(Doesn’t every mid to late twenties-ish guy dream of coasters for their birthday?)

Then I got scribbly on the wrapping paper, as I’m prone to do.

Background: K’s a little bit fanatical about not letting drinks touch the furniture, which really makes no sense seeing that all our furniture is plastic coated fiberboard from Ikea and a little dampness couldn’t possibly hurt it. But whatever. I can indulge this minor insanity. I’m pretty sure that’s what relationships are all about.

Any excuse to put mandragoras on stuff is cool too.

Watercolor ATCs

2010-06-23T10:04:00.004-04:00

The US is playing for their World Cup lives this morning, so I can't be bothered with the sketching. But here's some stuff I made when I had insomnia one night.

It's like a million bees are telling me all of their secrets!

2010-06-21T18:17:00.005-04:00

True Fact: Not only do vuvuzelas not annoy me, their constant buzz makes me feel relaxed and a little bit sleepy.

Marluxia discovers reality tv. Reacts accordingly.

2010-06-18T14:12:00.006-04:00

These morning sketches brought to you by ridiculously awesome fanfiction and the number 4-11.

On a totally different subject, TODAY IS A GREAT DAY FOR FOOTBALL*. It is not, however, a great day for refs.

Avenge us, England. You have to win your next two games so that we can win our next game so we can all make it to the next round and get blown away by the Germans.

*that's right, football. I spell colour with a 'u' and go to the theatre, too.

Old Comic is Old

2010-06-11T16:28:00.002-04:00

But still pretty accurate.

"You! Yes--you! You are dead!"

2010-06-09T11:06:00.002-04:00

Weird stuff goes through my head when I paint.

You know what else happens when I paint? Bugs. I don't know what it is about turpentine and mineral spirits that makes them decide to crawl out of the woodwork and converge on my desk, but they need to stop. And thanks to Man Vs. Wild, which I've watched way too much of recently, all I can think when I see them is "In survival situations, you must put your food prejudices aside. Insects contain three times more protein than beef. These guys are edible, you just need to take off the stinger and--" UGH GET OUT OF MY HEAD BEAR GRYLLS.

This Just In

2010-05-21T14:43:00.003-04:00

I'm an insufferable nerd.

That is all.

Do you always have to stare at me like I just drowned your goldfish?

2010-05-19T13:20:00.004-04:00

Oh Xigbar. Your habit of saying things that almost-make-sense-but-not-quite is what makes me like you.

Posted because I had an interview today, and even though I think it went well I feel the way Roxas looks.

Weird Ass Dreams

2010-05-17T10:20:00.004-04:00

Weird Ass Dreams. They're those special brand of dreams that are so convincing you actually have to check your teeth when you wake up to make sure they weren't really stolen by the devil and replaced with serrated gemstone fangs.

And they weren't. My sister hadn't really run away to become a traveling warrior priest either. Which is...kind of disappointing all around.

A winner is you

2010-05-14T16:22:00.003-04:00

There's been almost no sketching for the past few days. Sadly, the only thing I have to upload is old fanart. Boo.

Because junk mail makes good reference material?

2010-05-12T10:03:00.002-04:00

I'm sure they'd love to know why they're posed like Abercrombie models. I wish I had answers for them.

Sparring Practice?

2010-05-10T13:01:00.005-04:00

Short straw gets to play with Saix!

This game is so retarded, I don't understand why I like it so much. It's like having a boyfriend that I know I'm too good for, but can't stop loving.

...which has never happened in real life, by the way. Put your mind at ease, K.

Hyena

2010-05-07T10:23:00.003-04:00

Don't worry about what's going on in the upper right. I don't know either.

Stabbity

2010-05-04T13:49:00.004-04:00

So I've been working on this project that requires me to draw babies. Tons and tons of big-eyed, bobble-headed babies in over-sized football jerseys. Which is fine. But every few hours I just...have to stop and do something like this to keep myself from going mad.

Wolf and Red

2010-05-03T13:07:00.003-04:00

Lazy sketch is lazy.

Last night was full of wedding-related nightmares. I'll be glad when the whole getting married thing is over, so my psyche will have to go back to finding more creative things to torment me with.

Sunday will bite you

2010-04-30T10:16:00.001-04:00

Oh yes he will.

Pheasants

2010-04-28T11:25:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I discovered that I can stream wildlife documentaries through my Wii via Netflix. I see a lot of David Attenborough in my future.

More sketchy paint

2010-04-26T10:42:00.003-04:00

I have a secret, long-hidden love for dreadlocks.

Devil Dreams

2010-04-16T13:26:00.005-04:00

Seriously, does anyone else have reoccurring characters in their dreams?

Koi

2010-04-16T13:15:00.003-04:00

Today is Moose's birthday! I was going to go to the zoo to celebrate, but it's supposed to rain all day. I guess this fish is as close as I'll get.

Digital Speed Paint Practice!

2010-04-16T13:04:00.003-04:00

One day I'll get the hang of this digital thing.

Lovers are Lunatics

2010-04-16T12:52:00.002-04:00

Sketches for my new portfolio page--which should be up soon!

Reset

2010-04-16T12:45:00.002-04:00

Ok, so we're going to have to face it--I'm not a very chatty person. When people harass me about updating my blog (and by "people" I mean "my mom"), my genuine response is..."I've got nothing to say."

So this might help out with that. I'll be turning this place primarily into a sketch dump, a place I can put all the bizarre little scribbly things I do every morning before I'm fully awake and caffeinated.

Hopefully it will make updates more frequent.

Illustration Friday--Fast

2009-10-27T12:08:00.008-04:00

So here are some wolves. They're pretty fast, I think. I also sketched them out pretty fast. You can't tell so much since I had to shrink the resolution down to a blog friendly size, but the lines and paint are all kinds of scribbly. I like it that way. Smooth lines are overrated.

So you guys might not know this, but one of my (many) secret fears is falling through those ventilation grates you see on city sidewalks. Every time I walk over them I just know they're ready to give way and drop me down into some underground Silent Hill world full of zombie monsters ready to eat my face. Well guess what--that totally happened to a guy today. The falling through the sidewalk part, I mean, not the Silent Hill part. He dropped straight through a flimsy ventilation grate and got stuck in an underground shaft some 15-20 feet below. I saw it on the news and I was like "...I knew it."

I'm adding this to my growing list of evidence that Baltimore is built on a foundation of evil.

Illustration Friday--Frozen

2009-10-20T13:40:00.005-04:00

This fox is desperately trying to hide from winter. As am I.

Maybe he will find his way into a local gallery...? He might, if I can actually fill out the submission paperwork correctly. Which is harder for me than you might think.

We must also hope that this isn't the kind of gallery that only accepts watercolor still-lifes of withering fruit. Because there are just way too many of those downtown.

Salsa Time

2009-09-11T17:28:00.011-04:00

When I was a kid there was a local Mexican restaurant in town called El Toro’s which was pretty well known for its awesome dipping sauces. I’ve had a craving for some serious spicy food lately, so today I decided to attempt to make one of their salsas.

The restaurant closed up when I was in high school, so I can’t quite remember what the original salsa is supposed to taste like. My mom makes it on occasion and hers is usually moderately spicy, so that’s kind of what I was expecting from mine.

Well. I don’t really know what went wrong. I’m not exactly know for being kitchen savvy, so it could have been a lot of things. Maybe too much cumin. However it happened, my salsa is vicious hot. Like, knock your brain out of your head hot.

And I’ve got a freakin gallon of it. I guess I’ll jar some of it up for winter, for sinus clearing purposes.

In case you'd like your brain knocked out too: El Toro Red Sauce

Makes about a gallon of salsa.

2-3/4 cups jalapeno peppers, crushed
3/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup dried oregano
1-3/4 cup garlic powder
Salt to taste (about 2-3 tablespoons)
1/8 cup cumin
1/2 cup crushed red pepper flakes
4 28oz cans crushed tomato
1 cup water

Puree jalapenos and onion in blender adding a little juice from the jalapenos. Mix in spices. Add to the crushed tomatoes and water. Mix thoroughly, and serve with chips.

Ding. You have arrived.

2009-09-10T15:31:00.000-04:00

You have successfully migrated to the new blog! Congratulations. It was exhausting, I'm sure.

If you're ever feeling sentimental, you can always visit the old blog at http://zettaworks.wordpress.com/.

So. Let's continue then.