Melissa Koch

My Artists Help Asia SketchCrawl Fund

2011-03-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

Please feel free to forward this on. The more people chip in the better it will be. As everyone knows, last week Japan suffered a massive earthquake and tsunami devastating homes, families and lives. Yet the response to this natural disaster has been a third as effective as to other recent natural disasters in Chile and Haiti. So Enrico Casarosa, the founder of the worldwide SketchCrawl has asked artists planning to participate in the April 16th worldwide sketch crawl to raise money to draw that day. If every artist participating around the world (hundreds) raised at minimum $100, there would be a great deal of money going toward the disaster relief. And if you're an artist, you can participate as well!

We support people running marathons for a cause, now support me in drawing for a cause! My personal goal is $1000 and if you donate $50 or more, you will get an original signed sketchbook page from the SketchCrawl! (If too many people donate that much, then you will get an original, signed "Thank You" sketch :) )

So please follow this link to my Fundraiser Page. All money will go directly to Give2Asia, official partner to Artists Help Japan Fund. Please give generously!

Thank you so much!

Cheers!
Melissa

Time or lack thereof: A Rant

2011-03-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

My muse and I have a pretty good relationship. She shows up fairly regularly, albeit at times when I am at work and cannot act on her inspirations (in those cases I just jot down a thumbnail to consider later). The problem is, I can't always show up on my end.

I'm a night owl in a diurnal world. Always have been. It's a shame really. I wish I were a morning person, I truly do, because they seem to get more DONE! There are advantages to being a morning person. A major one is that you're up and have energy when the stores open so you can get your errands done right away. In fact, you're up and have energy BEFORE the stores are open so you can get other stuff done before you even go out and do your errands or go to work.

Of course, being a night owl isn't so bad. You're up when the rest of the world has gone to sleep so worldly distractions are minimal and you can focus on what you want. In my case it's drawing or painting. But here's the problem: I'm a night owl with a day job.

So every morning Monday through Friday I have to wake up before I want to because I can't seem to get myself into bed before 11 or 12 (or later), I slowly stumble my way through my morning routine, hopefully without tripping over the kittens, which eventually leads to me rushing through the remainder of my routine so I can get out the door and to work on time (which is 8:30am). What I wish is that I could get myself to wake up at 5 or 5:30am every morning to either go for a jog or workout, with a little time leftover for some sketching, get to work, come home from work, eat dinner and then back to the drawing board. But I'm not a morning person.

There is the argument that I could go straight to the gym after work, home for dinner, drawing board then bed but the problem I have is I'll get caught up in my work, be up way too late and then it'll be very difficult to get moving for work the next day. Sigh...

So I don't think my problem is necessarily that I'm a night owl. Here are the two major problems I can see:

There aren't enough hours in the day. Not much to be done about this one... kinda hard to slow done the Earth's rotation. I remember in my undergrad days learning about sleep patterns in humans. Turns out, at whatever point we had evolved into homo sapiens, there was a whole extra hour and 15 minutes in our day. That's right, Earth's rotation was slower. Hence why we humans ended up with this need for 8 - 9 hours of sleep (for us normal mortals that is. I can't speak for those that need only 4. I wish I were them). So why did the Earth have to go and get itself in a big damn hurry? Why couldn't it have slowed down a little more, given us more TIME!? Sheesh!
We NEED sleep. This is THE BIG problem. I lose about 6 - 8 hours of good, productive time EVERY NIGHT!!! Every night! All because of some biological need to shut down for that time. Which can be blamed on evolution. Once upon a time, mammals were nocturnal. We had to hide from the dinosaurs and other super-sized predators and it was easier to keep still if you were sleeping. Then the dinosaurs died out and suddenly our early mammalian ancestors are free to roam in daylight. So by the time homo sapiens evolved, we had lost whatever good night sight ability we had. Well, since animals need to sleep anyway to recharge our batteries and work out our parental issues in dreams (thanks Freud), Mother Nature thought it would be good for us to find a place to hole up for the night and sleep since we were no longer well equipped to avoid the now dangerous nocturnal predators. The need for sleep was a good way to keep us out of trouble. So now we are bumbling idiots without it, and we lose YEARS of time in our lifetimes.

Don't get me wrong. I L-O-V-E love sleep! Always have. Ask anyone who has known me a while, particularly my parents. They can tell you. Heck, I stayed in the womb late. What I hate is that I NEED sleep. It's a totally unhealthy codependent relationship. I need it, I want it, I can't live without it, but it's a time waster! Why can't I have a recreational relationship with sleep? I'd fall asleep for a complete sleep cycle (about 90 minutes, or go crazy and enjoy 2 cycles for 3 hours) enjoy a couple dreams, then wake up refreshed and inspired by strange visions and enjoy endless hours of drawing pleasure! Why do we need 8 - 9 in a row??? It's that whole evolutionary advantage thing, that's the average length of the dark time on Earth. Gotta avoid those nighttime predators! Hasn't Mother Nature learned we've invented light bulbs and efficient weapons? Not to mention, the really scary predators completely avoid our overly large settlements. We don't really need to need 8 hours anymore. Sigh.

Of course griping isn't the answer, making a schedule is. But as far as the morning hours goes, it's hit or miss with me. Without a hard-ass trainer like Teena from my Cornell days threatening suicide runs or fat burners on the bike if I show up late for a 6 am workout, there isn't much motivation for me to comply. So shift everything over to the evening. perhaps my early morning will be some sketch studies for an hour, then work, then workout, then dinner then more drawing. Hmmm.... Well this will require some tweaking over the next week or so. We'll see how it goes and I'll let you guys know how it's progressing.

In the long run, perhaps what I need is a thriving freelance career where I can work on MY schedule instead of Mother Nature's. Because it really is hers you know. The reason the human race holds the hours it does is because of her. And for us poor throwbacks that love the quiet witching hours of the night, we lose out. Or is it that we've evolved slightly ahead of the curve realizing a diurnal existence is no longer a necessity. The only one that seems to be on our side is 711.

Well... for those of you who skimmed through this long rant, or got tired of the whining, here's the rub of this post: I wish I didn't NEED to sleep. I have a feeling I would be a lot more productive (not to mention sleep deprived hallucinations can be rather inspiring). ;)

A fabulous take on the creative process

2011-02-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

As an artist, one often suffers from anxiety of whether or not one is good enough. Perhaps you do some brilliant work, that everyone loves, and then suddenly there is this pressure to continue to perform at that level. What if you can't? Fear of failure, some would say, but really it all comes down to a fear of success. After all, if we succeed, people are going to continue to expect success from us. Yikes! The pressure. I feel that what I truly suffer from is a fear of success.

So today, while at work, I was listening to some of my podcasts as I worked on some new designs, which lead me to check out Iain McCaig's blog which lead me to check out some of the blogs on his sidebar which lead me to a TED talk by Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert about the creative process. And I must say, it certainly has changed me outlook on the work process and takes off a bit of the pressure. I often complain that the muse doesn't always speak to me, and she often decides to nag me at times when I cannot accommodate her with my pencil or paintbrush. But now I come across this video, and a certain amount of calm washes over me and gives me a new perspective on how to work. As long as I show up at the drawing table everyday, there is nothing to fear, because I've done my part.

So check it out! :)

Pirate attack thumbnails

2011-02-02T23:45:00.001-08:00

So I have found a mentor! YAY!! His name is Craig J. Spearing and he is awesome and humble all at the same time! Perfect mix. At first we were thinking I would revisit the Dungeon Delve challenge and make it a sweet portfolio piece, but I was feeling sort of burned out on it, so we've moved on to greener pastures with plans to revisit the Dungeon Delve at a time when it nags me to work on it again :)

So here's the art spec he gave me for my first "assignment" :)

A Ship Being Invaded-

8"W x 10"H

A pirate aboard a ship at night. Several humanoid creatures (more than one, but it doesn't have to be dozens) are boarding the ship. It can be a combat scene, or a moment of lurking tension before the pirate notices them. The ship is only a setting, focus must be on the characters.

Certainly sounds like fun huh? So here are my thumbnails. I did at least 16, reallllly rough ones in my small Moleskine, but some were so rough I'd probably be the only one who would be able to tell what was going on. I made a point to only use a cheapy ball point pen so wouldn't be able to erase and get picky with the details. I took my 5 strongest ones and put them in Photoshop to clean up/clarify. There were a few others I still wanted to visit and see what I could do with them, but the main character is a tad too small I felt or it's face was hidden from view. So here they are:

(click for larger image)

Dungeon Delve Final

2010-12-14T14:18:00.001-08:00

So here is the final I submitted for the Dungeon Delve Challenge on ArtOrder. Drum roll please...

Well, here's to keeping my fingers crossed :) Wish me luck! Now it's on to more ideas! :D

Dungeon Delve WIP - Color

2010-12-14T02:24:00.001-08:00

Well... I think 'm about 90% there, just wanted some feedback before putting on the finishing touches and submitting. I decided I wanted a threat as well, so I added 3 hell hounds (since in Greek myth they always appeared in triplicate), but I wanted them silhouetted, barely seen with only the slightest detail indicated in rim lighting. :)

Let me know what you think!

New Dungeon Delve Sketch

2010-12-09T22:47:00.000-08:00

So here is my revised sketch... start color tomorrow :) Apologize for dark band in middle... went to Stinkos so I could use large scanner and told the guy to do it at 300 dpi... when I got it home it was at 150. Guess if you want something done right you have to do it yourself, so I had to use my standard size printer for my larger than standard size sketch (I usually try to work at least 1.5 times larger when sketching so I can get the detail I want)

Anyway... I think she is certainly feeling more lost now... at least when I look at it, her face seems to say, "Oh gods, not another wrong turn! Where am I now?

During painting phase the upper background is certainly going to evolve more, as well as make the archway more beat up looking and definitely edit any perspective issues. :)

Any comments?

Dungeon Delve - WIP

2010-11-30T23:06:00.000-08:00

So I've decided to post my WIP on the dungeon delve in the hopes of getting a little feedback.

The first 2 images are my sketch and quick value study submitted for the Sketch deadline:

The feedback I got was that the figure was looking good, but that there wasn't enough of a sense of being "lost" and that the image was looking a little cramped. Well... I'm inclined to agree.

So then I had to come to a realization that I may have to re-consider my composition. Before I totally considered that, however, I played with simply moving the composition up and down and playing with what was going on behind the character. I did this with tracing paper over my original drawing.... and while I was getting somewhere... it still felt stagnant.

So I did what any artist would do that wasn't satisfied with the original work, I took the image into Photoshop and started playing with the composition by adjusting the size of the character in the overall composition as well as adjusting her setting and other than the pose of the character ended up with a whole new image. These should be considered thumbnails I suppose since they are definitely in a very rough stage, but I think they get the picture across so to speak ;)

In this first image I kept the foreground element the same, but changed the size of the main character and her surroundings have also changed to show that there is more to the dungeon than that cramped space she was in before.

This next one I also changed the size of the character and her location but I changed her positioning in the frame. I feel that placing her toward the bottom of the frame increases the feeling of helplessness, plus it allows me space to put in more maze-like dungeon architecture above her showing all the ways she could be going or has already traveled and opened an opportunity to place a dangerous lurking creature behind her. The plan is to have mostly cool colors with the only warmth coming from her lantern and that doesn't reach far. The creature in the background would be mostly silhouetted (perhaps partially obscured by mist) and barely lit by her lantern with more of this crazy dungeon rising up behind it... dunno we'll see

Right now I'm leaning toward the second alternate image, with some tweaking involved of course. Thoughts, comments, harsh critiques?

More thumbnails

2010-11-11T22:49:00.000-08:00

Ahhh.... It is so nice that the muse has decided to grace me with her presence again. Helps that I've got a topic that I'm having fun with and it's getting back to my fantasy art roots. So to continue with the post from yesterday, here are some more. I've taken the ideas of some and refined them and did a few more new ideas that i had up in my head swimming around but just couldn't get down on paper yesterday.

So here they are. Feedback welcome if there's anyone reading LOL

Art Order Dungeon challenge

2010-11-10T23:34:00.000-08:00

So I joined ArtOrder and decided to partake in the Dungeon challenge. So here are my thumbnails. Any feedback would be welcome as I have to submit the sketch by Sunday ;) But this is the first I've had to work on it since I've had other commission work to do.

I like the idea of #1 and 3 but the composition needs work. I like the composition of #4, 5 and 6, though I think #4 could still be made more dramatic by changing the angle. #2 was just a quick getting an idea down on paper.

Let me know if I'm headed in the right direction.

Quasi Update

2010-10-18T00:41:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone... I think there are like 5 of you now...

Sorry I haven't been doing much lately, but I have been busy with a full time job and freelance job on top of it. I would love to share the work I have been doing for this freelance job, but unfortunately it is NDA and so you will have to wait until production is finished and the short is released for the first time.

I can tell you that it is for an animation company, it's for a short film and the art department and storyboard department consists of yours truly. Yep, that means I have done all the developmental character and set sketches, gesture drawings, expressions, initial color studies AND the storyboards. Let me just say that Storyboard Pro, by Toon Boom is an excellent tool! While storyboarding you can keep an animatic in mind, plan accordingly, draw right into the program or import images, keep track of time while you go along and so on. Fabulous! Drawing tools can be a little slow, but another plus is that the program is vector based so it holds up under any resolution! Yay!

I finally finished up the boards tonight after a week of hard work and now I have to complete the final full color paintings of the sets and characters. Really pretty concepts pieces (which probably means redrawing a few things here and there in order to make sure it still looks pretty and all the perspective is on the up and up LOL)

So until this job is completed, I rarely have time to post anything new. My first plan of work once I can once again listen to my own muse is taking up Mike Buffington's 1,000 head drawing challenge. Oh... it will happen. So keep your eyes peeled for my progress postings on that one.

Then... a story or two... what will it be? ;)

Stay tuned...

Cheers!
Melissa

Nightfall

2010-02-18T23:17:00.000-08:00

So I just finished reading Nightfall by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg. Brilliant! Imagine a world that has six suns, never knows darkness, never sees the stars, and then once every 2,049 years there is an eclipse: and everyone loses their minds!

I've been meaning to get some "sci-fi" into my portfolio since I don't have any, and it seems like everyone is looking for some. So since I was so inspired, I'm taking time away from the mad scientist's apprentice to visit Nightfall.

Here are some very small composition thumbnails followed by two gray scale moment thumbnails :)

Inspired by Joko's thousand thumbnails ;)

A sandstorm approaches the archeology dig

The observatory overlooks Saro City and is a major story point. An establishing shot.

Images from 4 is a little, 4 is a lot and a domain name...

2010-02-17T22:14:00.000-08:00

So I just realized I never really posted any work from the kids' book I was working on and well, I figured since we're getting down to handing in our bios and getting close to publishing, I figured I could share my stuff.

Four is a little when it's only four blueberries.

Four is a lot when it's Four watermelons

Four is a little when you only have four seashells from your trip to the beach

Four is a lot when you're trying to fit your four favorite toys into your suitcase

The other collaborative images will have to wait I guess since, all I have available is the kids I provided for the cover and the birthday scene at the end. But I think you get the idea from the illustrations I've posted.

In other news: I've just purchased my domain name! Yay! www.melissakochart.com.

Official website coming soon... Stay tuned for launch date :D

So I get my fancy dinner... :D

2010-01-28T01:23:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know, it has certainly been less than a drawing a day, you have permission to slap my hand and scold me all you want. However, I am presenting 3 images for your viewing pleasure today. Again we are continuing with the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The first image is the landing site in Munchkinland. The goal of course was to get as much vibrant color in there as possible to contrast with the drab gray of Dorothy's house and home of Kansas, as well as her very faded dress.

This next image is of course Dorothy traveling the Yellow Brick Road. She follows the road through the farming area of Munchkinland, where the favorite color is blue, hence the blue farm fences.

I found myself struggling with the image of Dorothy and the Scarecrow meeting... I feel I need a few more thumbnails before I feel completely comfortable with that one. But here is Dorothy and her friend the Scarecrow, entering the woods where they will eventually meet the Tin Woodsman.

It's at this point where the tone of the movie turns a little more somber for a few beats, hence the colors are more subdued... plus, they are deep in the woods.

These were all done using Photoshop, a program I am much more comfortable with. Unfortunately, I also tend to get caught up in too much detail when using it. I hat to force myself to simplify. I think I could have done better with that LOL.

Well tomorrow we're heading off to visit the snow and try our hands at snow boarding. I am expecting to fall down a great deal number of times and to have a fabulous time doing it. So I will not be posting anything until probably Sunday or Tuesday. :)

Stay tuned for more adventures in Oz...

(Oh! And PS: I met the deadline, so I get a surprise fancy dinner somewhere.
Anyone care to venture a guess? I'll fill you guys in on the next posting.)

A drawing a day keeps the blues away

2010-01-18T00:48:00.000-08:00

Derek, my wonderful boyfriend, gave me a challenge to complete 5 pieces of work by January 28th. If I meet the deadline, we're eating out at my favorite restaurant Luella in Russian Hill, or some other gourmet digs. If I fail, we're getting Little Ceasar's Pizza. Either way he wins.

So while most people make a New Year's resolution to get back in shape, mine is a little different this year. I would LOVE to get back in shape, be able to run for miles without stopping, but after searching for a full time job for nearly eight months, it's time for a different type of workout. DRAWING, or at least creating new work.

So the goal: to do at least one drawing a day, even if it's just a doodle. This includes sketches in ye ole sketchbook as well as playing with digital media.

Since I do far better coming up with ideas for other people's stories (at least lately. I'm sure all this creative "exercise" will eventually inspire me to resume work on The Last Tooth), I decided to visit The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. And as my dream job is to work in the art department of a certain animation studio that shall remain nameless so as not to show favoritism, I realize I need to push my style a little more. First assignment that I have given myself: produce full color story beats (to help create a color script) using Illustrator. Not only will this actually force me to stylize, it will force me to ignore detail and focus on light, shadow, composition and color. This is good for me as far as expanding my horizons and also allowing me to work a bit more quickly.

The first piece was completed Friday afternoon, the second, just a few hours ago. I know what you're thinking: "Melissa? A drawing a day? Where is the one from Saturday?" Well, sometimes life happens, people, and occasionally I must pay attention to my wonderfully supportive boyfriend, even if it means it takes time away from me beating his challenge :P.

So, for your perusal and enjoyment, I present the first two story beats from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:

Rather than go completely gray-scale for Kansas, I made everything very desaturated. The most saturated source of color is the sky and clouds, because it is the storm that ultimately whisks Dorothy away to the wonderfully beautiful and colorfully vibrant land of Oz. The framing is done to demonstrate how vulnerable a small Kansas farm would be. Baum describes them as being more surrounded by the storm, but for the sake of communicating a looming storm with one image, I thought this was a good choice.

The second image is up inside of the cyclone. I wanted to present a more dynamic view than simply the house being held in the mouth of the cyclone as it is depicted more often in storybooks, or just outside of the cyclone as it is shown in the theatrical version. In the book, Dorothy almost loses Toto through the trap door that originally led down to the storm cellar, but now leads to nothing but whirling air. I played a bit more with effects in Illustrator on this one, as well as the brush tool :)

"A strange thing then happened.
"The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air....
"In the middle of a cyclone the air is generally still, but the great pressure of the wind on every side of the house raised it up higher and higher..."

--L. Frank Baum "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

I think I could still play with this one a bit more. We shall see :)

TO BE CONTINUED... (dum dum DUM!)

Portfolio

2009-11-28T15:00:00.000-08:00

From Creature Design Instruction with Terryl Whitlatch, during which time the importance of anatomy was stressed and emphasized with design of side orthographic as well as showing character:

Examples of Character 2D character designs and

Page design/layout Thumbnails for "The Sword and the Stone":
Final watercolor pieces for cover art and an interior illustration

Page design and layout for "The Rats of Hamelin" (The Pied Piper)

Final interior 2 page spread illustration with text, digital - Corel Painter X

Initial concept designs for short story "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" with a Mad Scientist Twist:

Black and white composition thumbnails. Original size of thumbs 2.35

Grayscale "moment" studies:

Initial Castle design thumbs/silhouettes

Test work

2009-09-03T00:44:00.000-07:00

Working in the style of Slide's Super Poke Pets for a test project. Task, create and animated kiddie ride and a mall background with animate.

So.... how'd I do?

"The Last Pagan" a short film by Martin Roe: Character designs

2009-08-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

For Martin Roe's Master's Thesis- Direction "The Last Pagan". Designed/filmed June 2007.

Storyboard work was also done for this job: over 100 boards in 2 days. Not my prettiest work but they did their job :)

Creature Sketches, Initial concepts

2008-06-28T17:25:00.001-07:00

Creature Design

2008-06-28T16:12:00.001-07:00

Layout Design

2008-03-06T22:38:00.000-08:00

Boy's Room - aboard airship

Marker Location drawing: Chinatown gate, San Francisco

Marker Location Drawing: William-Sonoma

clock shop thumbs

toy shop tu

Antique Toy store

Steam Punk style diner - inspired by China Mieville's city of Armada from The Scar:

Character Design

2008-03-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

Character exploration for thesis: "The Last Tooth"

Little Red Riding Hood gestures and expressions

Little Red Riding Hood Exploration

2D character designs

Character Color Wheel

Drow Sorceress

Punk Rock Kung Fu :P