Bombshell Cat Studio

August 2011 Sketchbook Highlights

2011-08-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

Mikayla and the Angels, Pencil
August 15, 2011

His "Majesty", Pencil
August 21, 2011

(writing is actually random lyrics from Placebo's "Post Blue")

Art is © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011
Characters are © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011 unless otherwise noted

July 2011 Sketchbook Highlights

2011-08-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

Anne, Pencil & Watercolor
July 30, 2011

Warm-Up Sketches, Pencil & Watercolor
July 14, 2011

Art is © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011
Characters are © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011 unless otherwise noted

June 2011 Sketchbook Highlights

2011-08-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

Milady, Pencil
June 26, 2011

Mr. Hall, Stylist Pen & Crayon
June 9, 2011

Milady, Pencil
June 26, 2011

Art is © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011
Characters are © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011 unless otherwise noted

May 2011 Sketchbook Highlights

2011-08-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

Tobias, Watercolor and Stylist Pen
March 24, 2011

Alternate Scan

Theo and Johna, Watercolor and Pencil
May 24, 2011

Alternate scan!
Johna belongs to Joneko

Ryan, Watercolors and Stylist Pen
May 23, 2011

Art is © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011
Characters are © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011 unless otherwise noted

Sleepy Bear

2011-06-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Tobias (as a bear) and Ryan
pencil on regular ole computer paper, photographed on cell phone and colorized slightly using Picasa.

Art is © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011
Characters are © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011 unless otherwise noted

2011-05-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

Miki as a tweenage super-heroine.

Hand-colored poster version available on Etsy!

Space Knight is from the Sera Myu Musicals

Ruth and Thomas from a 1920s story in my head.

Why yes, they are just another version of Tobias and Ryan.

Anne searches for her beloved companion…

Clarence!

Annie and Bluey from ye ole failed comic.

Ballet doodles for “Miki and Sir.”

Sable belongs to Clear on Manga Bullet

(this was from an Art Trade)

Sir

Ojo

An is joneko’s character

(another Art Trade)

Minty for mintyhae on Manga Bullet

Art is © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011

Characters are © Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011 unless otherwise noted

Riona and Brett

2011-03-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Pencil

Riona was drawn by me, Colleen

Brett was drawn by Joneko

Art Dump! :D

2011-03-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

Cara

Stylist Pen, Crayola Crayon

Lady Anne

Pencil

Manly Unicorn

Stylist Pen

All drawings in this post are (c) Bombshell Cat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2011

Toby Sketches

2011-03-10T18:25:00.000-08:00

Pencil

Tween Mikis

2011-03-10T18:23:00.000-08:00

Stylist pen and Crayola crayons

Camera Commission

2011-02-24T12:31:00.000-08:00

Stylist Pen, Crayola Crayons

This is a logo I did for my friend Jamaal's business card. He is a pretty stellar photographer. Check out his photos here: http://jlewisphotography.tumblr.com/

Dragonfly For Mom

2011-02-16T19:09:00.000-08:00

Dragonfly, Stylist Pen

This evening my mom asked me to make her a business card, something I was more than willing to do. We tossed ideas about over the dinner table and quickly decided on a blue dragonfly, which I drew and inked immediately afterwards. Blue is my mom's favorite color, you see.

Dragonflies have always been special to my mom, but they are even more precious since Grandma passed away last spring. Shortly after she passed away, two of my cousins were reunited with her in the form of a large dragonfly that shared their beach towel. After some research, my mom discovered that dragonflies are sometimes seen as go betweens with the spirit world. As a result, dragonflies are precious to us.

My mom is a great peace-keeper and connector. I am sure she is part dragonfly and I am so glad she loves her cards. :)

(Also, special thanks to Joneko for cleaning my line art and making it blue.)

Warm Up Sketches, No Guides

2011-02-16T08:57:00.000-08:00

Today I made a very important decision- to do more "no guide" drawing. This means two things:
1. No using proportion guidelines
2. No references
While this does not make for good, polished pieces... it does help with capturing character instead of worry about "Gah! HER ARM IS NOT LIKE THAT!" all the time. It is also just plain fun!

Tobias, Pencil
This is a pretty good example of what "no guides" looks like: really messy! (Also: look! I have no idea what a guitar looks like!) Actually, when drawing Toby the lack of guides is very freeing because I stop thinking about his skeleton and start thinking "he's a pillow."

Ryan, Pencil
Since I ended up thinking less about anatomy, I got to make some basic but important design changes that better suit Ryan's character. Long hair? Not very practical for the girl on the run. Or the girl with five brothers.

Tobias, Pencil
On the other hand... if I were using guides you would be able to tell that Toby's hands actually make sense in this pose.

Line Art: Toby and Mark

2011-02-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

Stylist Pen

The final, colored version of this illustration will be in this weekend's update of "Miki and Sir"- but it was far too adorable not to share! This is possibly my favorite illustration for the series so far.

(Though, really, the one of Sir in that apron is right up there...)

What I learned today: Drawing a one year old is not easy! I had to throw everything I know about proportions out the window for this and one other illustration involving little Mark!

(Mark's birthday is next week, by the way: February 12th.)

Anne Dress Concept

2011-02-01T12:08:00.000-08:00

Pencil & Colored Pencil

Pose and dress modeled on an image in Tom Tierney's "Renaissance Fashions" coloring book.

This piece was made to get a better feel for the style of dress I will be using in a painting later. (This exact pose and dress will not be used.)

Mr. Toby Color Test

2011-01-31T13:14:00.000-08:00

Stylist Pen and Crayola Crayons

Just a quick little sketch to test skin tone and other colors for Toby's upcoming appearance in "Miki and Sir." I think the skin tone works but I hope that I can find a better color for his shirt so he looks less... blah. Toby is NOT a "blah" kind of guy.

The writing on the right side? Those are color notes. I try to keep track of what crayons I am using in the story and how many of them are NOT in a regular 24 box of crayons. (The goal is to keep the non-24 box colors to a minimum so that it is easy for fans to get a hold of the colors used.) Toby's skin tone is one of only three colors so far that is NOT a 24 Crayon Box crayon. (Tumbleweed is the color, for those interested.)

Lady Isobel and Sir Theo

2011-01-31T10:03:00.000-08:00

Stylist Pen & Crayola Crayons

Miki Proportions - WIP

2011-01-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

Mikayla

Bic Mechanical Pencil

Tonight I am doing a lot of work on getting Mikayla's proportions right. The above doodle (picture brought to you from my cell phone) is just one of many. For this particular one I used a picture of Margaret O'Brien as a reference. From this one I was able to stand Mikayla upright with the same proportions and then move her into different poses like a little doll.

I find it weirdly easier to work with proportions if the original pose is not dead on.

January Sketch Book Highlights

2011-01-24T10:24:00.000-08:00

Silly Tryan Nonsense

BIC Mechanical Pencil, Crayola Crayons

Lady Anne

BIC Mechanical Pencil, Joneko's Gel Pens

(Collab with Joneko)

Sir and his Ladyface

BIC Mechanical Pencil

Shield Lesson

2011-01-09T06:52:00.000-08:00

This image is of Sir Theo (I am sure you remember him... as he was one of the first focuses on this blog) and his squire, Johnathan. (Johnathan is Joneko's character.) While I was on my first real vacation in a small age, Joneko and I decided to pull Theo and his old universe out of retirement to start an "sort of secret project" that maybe you will someday see!! Not today though. Today you get to see THIS.

I will, however, tell you a little bit about what is going on because I made this part up and am proud of it: This is a defense lesson. It is a lesson that takes place early on in a squire's education. Two knights face off, each defending their squires. The squires are meant to watch and pick up on how the shield is used when defending another human being. Later on the squire is meant to defend a small child using only their body and the shield while their master tries to poke/tickle the child. The aim is not for the squire to defend himself- but rather to defend someone as unpredictable as, say, a screaming damsel.

Materials: pencil (for sketch), black Stylist pen, Crayola crayons (24pk.), Joneko (my collaborator)

This art is (c) Bombshellcat Studion & Joneko 2011

Journal Comic + Toby Doodle

2010-12-15T17:35:00.000-08:00

Laughing Kookaburras are my favorite animal today. (Please don't tell my cat!)

Also, Toby finds your lack of faith disturbing.

Pencil Sketches, to prove I am alive.

New Story Project: Miki and Sir

2010-11-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

http://mikiandsir.blogspot.com/

Finally, Mikayla is ready for her own story. She is joined by Bosie the Mouse and her dad, Sir, as well as a whole host of angels and other friends.

The first story arc, "Miki and the Angels," begins today! Please add the story to your follow list to be notified of the updates!

The illustrations are sketched in pencil, inked with a Stylist pen and colored with crayons. :)

In other news: check out the logo above! Yes, that is right: I finally decided on a design! (Next step: business cards!)

Fake Wedding Invite

2010-07-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

This was done most for my own amusement regarding an upcoming role-playing event- but it serves a practical purpose as well. This is a very good example of something I can do for commission: personalized silhouettes.

My silhouettes are drawn, not cut. Email me at despoticpetticoat@gmail.com if you are interested in these or any other sort of commission for pricing.

As always, the art here is © Bombshellcat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2010. Don’t steal, it’s not nice.

Draco, Finished Piece

2010-07-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

Stylist Pen, Watercolor and Watercolor Pencils. July 12th.
Super poor scan quality will not stop me from using my watercolors!
Did not bother correcting posture/pose. (Who holds a sword like that?!) This piece was mostly for reference in later art, should I decide to use him more in the future. I think I HAVE decided to use him more, at least for a little while. I like unpleasant people.

(c) Bombshellcat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2010. Do not use without permission.

Two WIPs

2010-07-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

Mara and Riona. Pencil. July 11th.
Will be sending this one to the penpal for inking/completion. :)

Draco "Redesign." Pencil. July 11th.
Draco is an old, old RP character. He comes from before Toby, before Theo... roughly around the time of Shenlun. (Middle School.)
My first portly male protagonist! I always forget how far back this little trend of mine goes. The three (Toby, Theo and Draco) have little in common other than this. Draco was a disagreeable "firey tempered" shapeshifter. (I tried very hard to make him as disagreeable as possible, but he still ended up being the apple of everyone's eyes.) Yes, he turned into a dragon. Most of the other characters were shapeshifters "born of stardust" that came with the names of constellations. They were semi-immortal, only able to die by being slain. As such, they had a lot of duels. Another fun factoid from this universe: the starborns could still get sick, they would just have to live with it forever if it was not curable. There were humans in this universe too, always going further into the starborn lands and killing the "demons" if they were the superstitious sort.

Someday I will write a lovely set of childrens chap books about these guys... only I probably won't.

As always (c) Bombshellcat Studio 2010. Stealing is wrong.

Summer Sketch Book Highlights #1

2010-07-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

I have not been working on many complete or serious pieces lately, but I am trying to update once a week. As such, this week is all sketches.

The above are work doodles, all from the Potter-verse RP. Silly stuff. Pencil. No date.

Non-Potter Ryan and Toby having a moment of cute that does not involve glaring.
I'm as surprised as anyone. Pencil. July 3rd.

A whole page of Potter-verse Ryan doing her thing. Pencil. July 8th.

As always, these drawings are (c) Bombshellcat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2010. Please do not use without permission.

Mikayla as Cinderella

2010-06-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

Did anyone else grow up with the Lesley Ann Warren version of the musical? I always thought her rags were prettier than the ballgown.

Riona

2010-06-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is Riona, from yet another roleplay I have been doing with Joneko. She is a swan maiden and a bit of a snot. (Aren't all my characters? Wonder where they get that from...)

Potter Art!

2010-06-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

These two pieces are for a Harry Potter style RP I have been doing with two great/awesome pals of mine. Normally I am not one for the fan art (unless we are talking about Sailor Moon, admittedly) but these were really fun to draw!

The top piece was inked/shaded by Joneko, my pen pal extraordinaire! She took my piddly sketch and made it look almost like... something good. (Outside of a theater, sitting on a grocery bag no less.) The characters are Tobias (it is SO weird to draw him young), Ryan and Mikayla.

The below piece is from today, it features Theo and Mikayla. All me, all silly.

Sketch Book Highlights Spring 2010, Part Two

2010-05-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

Gracie.
Pen. April 20th.

Shenlun.
Pen. April 21st.

James Cole takes a Fall.
Pencil. April 29th.

For those curious:
Pen = Stylist Pen
Pencil = BIC mechanical, usually .5 or .7

All images here belong to me (as in (c) Bombshellcat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2010) unless otherwise stated. Do NOT use without permission.

Sketch Book Highlights Spring 2010, Part One

2010-05-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

This ^ is not from a sketch book. These are "work doodles" on scraps of recycled paper. I wanted to share them because I think they are very silly looking. Below are some of the sketches from my actual sketch book:

Mikayla and Bosie.
Drawn in pen on April 16th.

Charlotte and James Cole.
(Alternate universe Ryan and Tobias)
Pencil. April 20th.

Mikayla says "HELLO"
Pen. April 20th

I really don't like putting that big old watermark on my tiny sketches. STILL: all images here belong to ME (as in (c) Bombshellcat Studio/Colleen Rauch 2010) so please do not use any of these images without permission.

Tango Face- WIP

2010-05-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

Just something I am working on as of last night. Better scan when I figure out what I am doing.

Gertie's New Coat

2010-01-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

Isn't she just lovely? This is Gertie of "Gerties New Blog for Better Sewing" , one of my personal favorite blogs! (My reference photo can be found in this entry, by the way.)

What is this picture made of? Well, admittedly, mostly mistakes. (You can see one on the black outlining of the skirt portion of the coat pretty obviously.) Here are the materials: black Paper Mate flair pen for the outline, Yasutomo stylist pens (brown, black and red) for the coloring of the hair, shoes and coat, grey Staedtler triplus fineliner for coloring the stockings- all on a 6x6 piece of smooth Bristol. (I need to invest in some thicker pens/markers for coloring, haha.)

Why did I draw this? I just felt like it! This is not a professional effort by any stretch of the imagination, I just wanted to draw something fun today.

Mikayla ATC

2009-10-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

This Artist Trading Card is being mailed to my lovely pen pal Joanna.

Miki and Bosie dressed for this fine wint'ry October cold we have been having here in the New Englandy/Northern states.

Trying out some new pens! I found one black Stylist pen at the library and fell in love... and promptly ordered a box of black and a few individual colored ones. They are really nice for making even my sketches look a little more like complete pieces. Toying with the idea of black with one other color as an illustation style here, I rather like it!

Feedback would be lovely!

I had fun working with this size paper and expect to do more ATCs in the near future! Want one? Email your address to me despoticpetticoat@gmail.com ! Because these are free I will NOT be taking requests as to subject matter. What you get will be completely random- but it is fun! If you don't like what you get you can leave it somewhere for someone else to take. Do you make ATCs? I would love to trade!

Materials: ATC sized Bristol, Stylist Pens

Mikayla Kind of Week

2009-09-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

Both these pieces are from Monday's art lesson.

Mikayla is the main character from my ever-in-the-planning-stages/trying-to-get-off-the-ground comic "Eleison" which will probably reboot... again... in the near future. For real this time, I hope.

Mikayla can see angels. She also has a pet/friend mouse named Bosie. Yes, after THAT Bosie.

Mermaid

2009-09-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Mermaids were one of my favorite things to draw as a child. Second only to flowers and princesses, I believe. I spent ages trying to figure out how to draw scales on them without it looking stupid because smooth mermaids just weren't realistic. I remembered that here, obviously, though I found scales are pretty easy to fake with watercolors.

Who knew mermaids were easiest in watercolor? It seems so obvious to me now...

Tobias and Ryan

2009-09-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

Lately, as far as watercolor sketches are concerned, Toby has been showing up as more of a backgroud than a character. A prop, if you will, like a cardboard cut out or something. This might be because I think of landscapes when I think of him- you know the type. Big ole landscape with little wagons and people going across it to the West. Yes, in my head, Tobias is westward expansion.

Tree Kayla- Possibly NSFW

2009-09-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

Made small for minimal shock factor. Click to full view. Nothing horrible, just a little artistic nudity. You wouldn't wear clothes if you were turning into a tree either.

Considering she is from a story that features a character named Daphne that runs away from love... it might be a little ironic that recently Kayla has been appearing in paint form as a sort of tree spirit.

Young Tobias and Cara and a Tree

2009-09-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

The title says it all. A classic "watercolor mistake", meaning that I have no idea how this happened but am so glad that it did.

TOBYCAT

2009-09-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

Joanna, my penpal, and I have been joking about TOBYCAT for some time now. Basically he is my character Toby... as a cat. These drawings also feature: John, one of Joanna's characters and Ryan, who hopefully you know by now.

Art Contest Entry

2009-08-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

Entry

Wish me luck! I just barely made the dead line.

The Prompt: using a randomly generated shoujo title, create a summary and dust jacket for the story you imagine for it. I got, amazingly enough "Silent Whisper Library".

My inspiration came from the bad animes of my teen years, the romantic suspense novels of my even earlier years and my current love of steampunk, mad science, silent films and being a librarian. Enjoy!

Ozma of Oz

2009-08-15T05:26:00.000-07:00

Been (re)reading the original Oz books this summer. Previously I had only really read "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and "The Road to Oz"- it has been really great to FINALLY understand who Ozma is and where she came from! She is definately one of my favorite Oz femmes. ("The Marvelous Land of Oz" made General Jinjur my ABSOLUTE favorite, though I still love Dorothy and Glinda just as much as ever.)

Reading beyond the Deslow illustrated first book was something I was dreading for a long time. I was not sure if I could deal with a blonde Dorothy, but I rather like her BETTER. I love Neil's art nouveau inspired illustrations, being a bit of a Mucha nut myself, and wanted to do a tribute of sorts. So... I drew a vaguely art nouveau Ozma. I love her poppy headdress, it is so pretty!

Nostalgia

2009-08-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

Kayla and Blair, old characters finally getting a happy ending. ('bout time! Now I can stop worrying about them!)

A bit of a tribute to the late, the great, the fabulous John Hughes... whose films inspired ye old story these characters are from.

The words are from Andrea Wasse's "Better Days"- everyone should go listen to her music right now. (Some of it is on Myspace.) Yeah, example two of "Colleen writes down the lyrics to whatever she is listening to as she draws", though this time it is maybe more part of the piece?

Toby Got A Hat

2009-08-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Also, I am fairly certain he put on weight... again. He does that.

The Princess

2009-08-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

... she's in another castle. (And, no, this is not actually meant to be Peach. This is an original character.)

Annie is an Alchemist

2009-08-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

A sketch that turned out very well. I didn't think this would go anywhere... but it did! Stay tuned for more info and a possible actual story!

Cara

2009-08-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

She's a "bad faerie" from the same story as Tobias and Ryan. She is a muse, a faerie sweet-heart. She inspires artists and musicians in exchange for their love and their souls.

Theo and Wren

2009-08-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

WIPs, illustrations for a story. Wren is a radish, a rapun, hence the hair.

Ryan has Joined the Party!

2009-07-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

The first picture of Ryan (who is from the same story as Tobias) that looks/feels *right* to me.

Ryan is a dancer and a waitress and usually that is what I focus on with her design- but she is also a citizen of a port city, crawling with seafaring folk. This time I decided to bring out some slightly nautical themes in her dress and some serious Boston in her attitude. (Boston is MY city and it reflects in how Gauze, the fictional port city, is in my imagination. I bet it is crawling with whalers.)

So here she is, glaring at Tobias no doubt, with a dufflebag ready to join in on the adventuring.

Tobias

2009-07-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the crap quality, this is a webcam shot.

Tobias is an original character of mine from a story I write with a friend. He is one of my favorites, though lately I have been getting very mad at him for eating up so much of my sketchbook and rarely looking the way he ought to. This drawing is a happy exception and possibly the best sketch of him ever.

Theo

2009-07-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

I have been taking art lessons/work sessions with Janice, my old dance teacher. This portrait of my knight character (looking way younger, thinner and prettier than I usually like to draw him. I like him more, as a character, when he starts having his midlife crisis.)

Drawn in pencil and colored with watercolors and blue inks, I was trying to capture an almost stained glass feel. (Unfortunately it did not scan well, scanners do not like water colors nearly as much as I do.) If I were to make an all out definitive portrait of Theo it would be a stain glass window.

Not sure how long this took. Fifteen minutes? (The sketching and the coloring happened on different days.)

In the Name of The Moon

2009-07-05T17:09:00.000-07:00

I admit it, I have a fairly large soft spot for Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon. (Please note: the characters in this image are (c) Naoko Takeuchi, but the drawing is still (c) Bombshellcat Studio aka ME.) I never liked Luna though, I much prefer boy-cat Artemis. Arty is way more laid back and cool.

This was a bookstore doodle, drawn directly in pen (so please excuse the presence of major mistakes.) This particular piece took only a few minutes to get down. Not sure how fast other people draw, but I always get the feeling that I draw fairly quickly. (I guess the only way to find out for sure is to have a duel?)

More Blair

2009-06-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

I actually did these months ago now, but some non-watercolor Blair seemed called for by way of introduction.

The writing in the corner can just be ignored. Sometimes I take down the lyrics to whatever I am listening to on my sketch page. These particular lyrics are from Ben Folds Five's song "Mess". I guess it is a kind of Blair song, but it doesn't have to be seen as part of the piece.

Blair in Watercolor

2009-06-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

Every once in a very great while I do a watercolor painting that I actually like. This is one such happy occassion. I think this may be the best picture of my character Blair yet! (I have been drawing him for roughly six years now.)

Blair started his life when I started high school- along with his pals Kayla, Alan, Daphne and Raine. Since then they have starred in high school sitcom sketches, science fiction, westerns, Shakespeare and various historical fiction pieces. They are my "go to" characters when I feel like trying out a new setting or story line but haven't come up with persons to populate them. I like to think of them as a drama club- and all definitions of drama tend to apply.