EMPE

Some flippy business over the gap just for fun.

another old page

Done with a brush and tone for the bg fade.
I'm happy with the overall feel, there are some things that I would like to improve; less busy-ness with the shapes that make up the shadows, his expression in the lower, and try to get away from always drawing his face in a straight-on.

an old page, test

Just trying stuff out, difficult to get the images I see in my head down on paper or digital or what-have-you.

this would have gone in the 'About Me' box, didn't fit. Sorry.

Me on a good day, like today.

The 'About Me' bit.
Born in Tokyo, raised in Northern California, next to the Pacific, the Six Rivers, mountains, and lots of space to roam. Skateboarding and more skateboarding btn 10 and 30, with some schooling, some working, and some other activities to fill it all out. BA in film w/ an animation emphasis from SFSU.
San Francisco was home for a decade b4 making the move to Tokyo.
I love Northern California, I can breath in and instantly remember the salty coastal fog seeping into my core. Even though my ears still ring from the parties, concerts and clubs I know when a Redwood murmurs to me, that deep-down hum that creeps up on you when you are among The Giants.
The people, the life, the places, the food, the sights and sounds, I wonder why I left sometimes, but in remembering it's the crema and the cream that rises to the top.
On coming to Tokyo; do it if you have a do-or-die attitude about it with a good sense of humility/humor and you are willing to go it alone for an indefinite amount of time. It will take a 200% level of commitment and then some to keep your head above the surface. Even though it provides the essentials for the day to day, it can grind down on you too, the lifestyle, the working hours, the trains, the lack of directness in casual communications. Search out for the things that will make you comfortable because they won't come searching for you. Visiting a place and living in a place are two seperate things so forget what you might have learned from travel books or a visit, they will only be superficial in really getting to know a place like Tokyo. Seven plus years and still get those head-scratching moments just about everyday and in every aspect of life.
Relax and enjoy but be on your toes.
About this blog (might have mentioned it before sometime somewhere so bear with me); Bric-A-Brac Jungle, my comic and story, like a decade plus in the making. All my old characters and half-baked ideas rolled into one.
My immediate ultimate ideal plan would be to drop everything else and get this thing done in one form or another in time for something like the San Diego ComicCon (July23-27), or if I go long, AlternativePressExpo in San Francisco (Nov1-2). The reality is I have a full time job, freelance gigs come knocking, and then the family duties of raising a terribly cute two-year-old, so... With a little stubborn luck it just might happen.
Hope you remember from time to time to drop in and see if there's anything new. I'll drop bits of other stuff that I'm working on or had worked on plus some dirt on what life is like when you are living on Tokyo Time, could be interesting, could all be doo-doos.

Bone Boy, rough ver

I tend to not draw like this. I like it and I will make an effort to go even more loose if I can.

Bone Boy

bric-a-brac jungle is my story and my comic. Bone Boy is the main character but there are many others and each has their own story. Sooner, more so than later I hope, I'll introduce them here bit by bit.

About bric-a-brac jungle; I have been sitting on this story incubating it for years, it's been my pet project that always gets pushed to the side when other 'priorities' bubble to the surface. Having a full-time game job (Sony), doing freelance work for people, and taking care of my two-year-old leave little time for something like this. It's not all outside forces that have kept me from moving forward faster on this than I would like though. If I'm tired and exhausted or don't feel properly motivated then it makes little sense to try and torture myself over trying to get something out. Aggravating, but for me it just doesn't work that way unfortunately.

I have to be honest to myself though, this thing, bric-a-brac jungle, is something I must see to fruition, or die trying. It's this image burned on my brain that needs to be put to paper. Some of the characters and ideas are newer but some find their origins from over a decade ago, different stories, yet the characters and the general settings all seemed to fit together although it was never my conscious effort to do so.

My goal is to get it into something loosely related to comic book form first. It would be the best way to convey the story and it is something I could do myself (mostly). Something tangible that can be held and looked over would give others a sense for my style of characters, stories, ideas and settings. And for me personally, a proper book would be the most gratifying way to present these ideas.

Ok, enough rambling, I have a headache. If you got this far then thank you, I hope you come again to check out what's going on from time to time.

-Stephen

Elena Ogawa-Marshall

b. January 31, 2006

3150gm

51.5cm