![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
Last night one of the editors at Forbidden Fruit Zine ~ sent out the signal to artists, that they are getting the new issue cobbled together and if anyone on their list of contributors is interested to let them know, blah blah blah.
The series I am working on should be a go, but due to a slight snafu, it's not entirely certain I will get the story in my hands to know what exactly it is I am illustrating, before I leave to go farmsit and I return after the deadline.
SO I requested to see the list of story summaries and pounced on one that reminded me of the first artwork I ever did for them ~ One I'd felt was too rushed on my part(very tight timeline for me) and I was never satisfied with the result. This story was scifi as well, and I enjoy something out of the box.....
...and when I was greenlighted on the tale and opened the authors draft I almost fell off my chair.
It's the sequel to that first story I illustrated for, Alyx Shaw's Life Out There. BWAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!
Colour me happy *^___^* (and amused once more by that serendipity thang)
The series I am working on should be a go, but due to a slight snafu, it's not entirely certain I will get the story in my hands to know what exactly it is I am illustrating, before I leave to go farmsit and I return after the deadline.
SO I requested to see the list of story summaries and pounced on one that reminded me of the first artwork I ever did for them ~ One I'd felt was too rushed on my part(very tight timeline for me) and I was never satisfied with the result. This story was scifi as well, and I enjoy something out of the box.....
...and when I was greenlighted on the tale and opened the authors draft I almost fell off my chair.
It's the sequel to that first story I illustrated for, Alyx Shaw's Life Out There. BWAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!
Colour me happy *^___^* (and amused once more by that serendipity thang)
happy
I can't remember ever seeing your illustration for "Life out there", though - any chance you might still have that somewhere? *bats eyelashes cutely*
(I guess that I hadn't discovered ForbiddenFruit yet back then?)
Hopefully there'll be contributions from the other two artists on the list as well this time... otherwise the two of us could seriously claim to be the last two art-Mohicans of FF. *g*
And what's your impression of the new team? I think Alex is doing a good job of staying in contact with the artists so far - he even sent me the email address of the author I illustrate for in case I have questions. There's some definite improvement going on, methinks. :)
Now to sharpen my pencils and dig out the rest of my art supplies from somewhere in the messy pile of stuff... *ack*
Does farm-sitting mean you'll be out of the internet loop for those two weeks?
I groaned...I have till the 24th of this month and then I am outta here till Aug 10th. Farm sitting means I am on my mother's imac (which confuses me to death) and on dial up. I also don't particularly like to use their computer because my father is a snoop and searches my cache to see what I have been up to on the pc so NO way am I doing more than poinking my email on that thing and perhaps updating my journal.
Mostly though I will be catching up on reading, dissecting some kimonos (they are already in a box waiting for me)...which is a tedious job that's fine if you have the uninterupted time to do so you can just complete it. I also need to finish watching a series on dvd ....my time will be honestly wasted :)
ANYwhoo....it's pretty well guaranteed that the FF due date is ALWAYS when I am away ...always....ALWAYS. LOL!!! I forced my parents to go away in July for their vacation, in part so this wouldn't happen in August like last year. (yes I was at the farm then too...just before I left for Japan in Sept)...
OH WAIT....FF changed it's mind and now they want it in JULY....am I surprised? HECK NO. MY schedule is THEIR schedule! LOL!!!
It's sort of of been like this forever...since my first drawing, over Xmas/new years for Alyx. I think I pulled that one out of my buttox overnight or something, between hosting various family events.
ANYway......I don't think I have a copy of that illustration from the first story on my pc ...it goes waaaaaaaay back. Years....and year...I';; see if it's around but from what I recall it's so old and not beloved by myself that I am not sure I even kept the original.
Heh...I told Alyx that I'd have to fight you for this one if you wanted it, as soon as I discovered it was the same couple. I really wanted another kick at the can, so to speak. One in particular when I'm not doing it on the fly.
As for being THE contributing artist of FF...*chuckles*...heh...I also hope others step up to the plate. OR that the editors shake the trees for some fanartists to see if anyone else is interested. It's not like there aren't a lot of them lying around on the internet >D
What is my impression of the new team....I have to admit that I like very much the response time of Alex is excellent. Sure they have a learning curve but I hope they continue to communicate with us artists regularly ~ we don't ask much, beyond not being put into a tight spot and expected to perform miracles over night.
Alex also sent me the email addys this morning ~ although I already had spammed Alyx with my enthusiasm last night...poor girl...a billion questions and then I don my Mona Lisa smile and tell her nothing of what I am plotting....leaving her hanging I tell ya >D
....although I will not be contacting the *series* author. I am peeved that not once has she/he/it ever contacted me about the two pieces I have done for the series so far....I don't know if the artist loves or loathes them. I suppose the silence is telling. None the less...I'm not bending over backwards to contact the artist about it. I might be able to do something with a summary Alex promised would be coming my way soon...but with only a summary I can't get in the little details I like to include...
...but then doubt the author cares.
*breathes deeply....counts to ten....smoothes hair down on back of neck*
ANYway yes...new team...enthusiasm & good communications will go a long way with me.
Which story did you pick??
Sorry to hear that the first illustration isn't around anymore - but should you find it, please share! Especially as I always love to compare different takes on stuff, be that from different artists or from different time periods. I'm sure you'll have a field day with Alyx's story. :)
Don't worry about ever having to fight me about anything of hers, though ~ I'm not the only one illustrating her tales, nor would I want that monopoly or the "licensed artist" label. *g* Truth to be told, I rather enjoy being able to play around and try different things once in a while - and FF is the best place for that IMO.
This time, I picked "The Canals of Mars" because the idea tickled me... and after reading the story, there basically was just one possible illustration for it - so I might have a second go at "Home Cooking". I already told Alex, just in case, and snatched both stories. Either my intuition or the blurbs were very good, because both choices seem really promising to me...
And like you, I'll put on a mysterious smile and hide behind my sketchbook until it's time to share... ;D
Speaking of which - I can totally understand the snarky mood towards the author of that series. Not just because it's a bit risky to submit a series that's WIP and might not be finished on time for the next issue, but also because you did a terrific job on the first two installments ~ and whoever wrote that should be damn grateful to you and grovel at your knees to make sure you'll keep illustrating their work. After all, it's not just a compliment (and a big one at that!) but also the best possible advertising they could get for their story. But - if they want to be stupid, their loss, I guess... >:)
Let's keep our fingers crossed that the new FF team learned the few lessons the last issue taught them, and that this time the show will go on the air with a few less glitches, hm? ;)
*pauses and makes a note* ~ NO ScoobyDoo dvds allowed. They drive me nuts.
It will be actually good to get me away from the internet...while I don't miss it when I'm busy, it's just addictive when i'm quasi idle. :(
I've checked my pc and the artwork is not on here...I will though probably shuffle through the files when I am sharing the *new artwork* and we can compare what 3 years (or more) does for a persons skill set :P
Funny you should mention enjoying doing differnt things once and a while. I did quite a few pieces for another author who went original (works for here and her pre FF submissions in her original universe) and after a while I really needed to branch out...and so I actively avoided authors I knew because I needed something fresh and unknown.
The Canals of Mars/Home cooking....must have been on the list before I got to it. Alex forgot to send me a list of choices in the initial email...
Like you I go on intuition....but sometimes the reality fails to live up to the summary ~ I have to admit with SnS series that the potential is really good, the result is *MEH*.... but it IS fun to illustrate. I have had some real disappointments though and have wondered how despirate the editors were at the time to fill space (like that cowboy story....omg dumb) but then I get rewarded with goodness. It's a pig in a poke IMHO when you move beyond Alyx and Laura Eppich (whom I don't think has contributed in a while)...but whatev....I do this for fun and the challenge and besides it's just my opinion. Others might love those stories!
What kinda irks me about this series is...she's had a YEAR to prep part 3. Um...these are like 4 pages long. WTF? How hard can it be to have that proofed and ready to go? Why do the editors not even have a SUMMARY?! I can't say anyone should grovel to me but you know...even grunting in my direction for having BOTHERED TO ILLUSTRATE SOMETHING ...TWICE....would be nice...
(._(.
.)_.)
=__=
....my my...someones OBVIOUSLY bitter.
ANYway...yes I am keeping them digits tightly crossed and hope that eveyrone is clicking like a well oiled machine for this new issue. *^___^*
So *salutes*...here's to us. The artists charged with making Alyx sit on the end of her seat in anticipations ...*mmwahahahahah*...for a change. :)