At any rate, I haven’t posted in a while so I thought I’d give a heads up to what I’ve been doing!

Honestly the first three weeks after I graduated from college I… literally slept til 11pm on the couch. I kid you not. I get done with work, shower, eat dinner with my husband, watch a tiny bit of tv, then I wake up – bam its 10 or 11pm. I really think I needed to just crash after having 3 solid years of 6am-12 or 1am weeknights. But in the last week or two I’ve been thinking of a few topics… some of which need your input!

Simple mock for the website

What I’ve been working on
I’ve been doing a lot of planning for Oyasumi Yumiko. Most of which now is for the website, which needs to be more than a lovely little blog. Part of my whole venture into the realm of manga-producing is to make sure everyone can see the process. I think the process can sometimes be just as beautiful and interesting as the final product.

So I’m in midst of doing some kind of awesome artwork for the main page. The layout for the links is still up in the air.. I have sublinks within certain pages, so I’m really leaning to the left-alignment for my links… plus, it will be way easier to code.

Oyasumi Yumiko on Facebook!
Oh my goodness! Oyasumi Yumiko on Facebook now has 19 fans – wheeeeeeeeeeeeee! If you haven’t already, be a pal and like the page, I need 25ish to make a direct URL link to it on facebook (like facebook.com/oyasumiyumiko).

Manga Production
Manga production is still on track for September, but I’ve been chatting with some people – and they agree with me that I shouldn’t purposely try to *rush* just because of AWA. Honestly, I understand I have to have a deadline, but it’s also a case of I do not want to rush such a big project just for the sake of making an easy buck – does that make sense? I hope it does : ) I’ve realized that I’m not fearful to actually make the manga now, because I feel more comfortable (and dare I say competent) to actually make this thing a reality. So I will do what I can when I can, and shoot for something good for AWA in September.

I need your opinions!
Webcomic or Book?
I’m still on the fence whether this should be a webcomic or a book, or a webcomic that then becomes a book after so many pages are posted then pulled from the website. Realistically speaking, at some point I’d *like* to make money off of Oyasumi Yumiko b/c… blech, bills and things require this precious stuff called “money.” /sad. What’s your opinion? Do you like buying self-published books off the internet? Or do you prefer webcomics where you can donate whatever you feel is acceptable?

A Bandit Mini Plush - all handmade.

Pastel variant sheep plushie - handmade.

Etsy, etsy, etsy…

Ok, so I am thinking of putting some of my little handmade sheep on etsy.com.. but honestly I don’t know what they would sell for, or if they would even sell at all. I think they are cute, and so did classmates at my college, but is it sales worthy? Whats your opinion? What would you pay? : )

Also, did you know I’m selling charms on etsy? 3 different styles – can be put on a cellphone strap or on a velvet cord necklace (which reminds me.. I need to add more pictures of it being a necklace) ;D

That’s about it for now, I hope everyone is having a great June so far!

Yume ni nare! (Become a dream!)

-Emily

Yeah, I’ve been rather busy this past month. When March ended I was really stressed out because I had a few major things due.

• Senior Thesis Installation
• Senior Thesis Presentation
• Artist Statement
• Physical Portfolio
• Portfolio Leavebehind
• Update of my portfolio website
• Participation in CreateAthon

My Senior Show Installation

With all that I think I might have still forgotten a few things. I’m doing what is due for this week since yesterday I had to spend all day installing my work in my college’s art gallery. If you live in the Chattanooga area I invite you to come view Show II of the Senior Thesis Exhibition. Show I was really great, and the participants of Show II hope to match that level of awesomeness and show what the students of UTC have to offer. Show II exhibition opens at 5:30pm on April 19th, with artist talks/presentations starting at 4:30pm. If you cannot make it because you are out of the area, do not fret, I’ll be uploading more pictures of the show later on. : ) For now I just have the one image of what my work looks like after the install from yesterday.

So since college has been first and foremost this month I am looking forward to using the energy I focus on my school work onto my comic work. I see there being a slight one to two week lull after graduation where I relax a bit and get used to not working 18+ hours during the day. I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I am personally capable of. In retrospect I think that was the base of my fear for working on my comic work. Not to say that a degree means that I am now “qualified” to make professional work, but I’ve learned a wide variety of design processes that I makes me feel more comfortable and eager to create Oyasumi Yumiko. Yaay. : )

What is next? Well, portfolio review, Show II presentations, and other end of the semester hijinks. I beg your patience as after May 7th I should be free to work on what I have been planning for some 4-5+ years now.

By the way… have I thanked you all lately? For being so awesome? Well I’m thanking everyone again. Every bit of support that I get from you guys is really appreciated. While Oyasumi Yumiko is a very personal project to me I also do it for you guys, and hope to entertain you with my mahou shoujo story.

Only a few weeks left! Yaaaay!

Yume ni nare! (Become a dream!)

-Emily

every. day. is. a. chore.

I have found myself filled with so much pent up anxiety and general fidgets that I just want to spring head first into making my manga and just get it published, and it become a tv-series and and and and… (it keeps going.. lol).

I’ve been so antsy that one night earlier this week I thought, “Hey! I’ll try to make a contest and find some ways to get more exposure for Oyasumi Yumiko!” It sounded good when I thought of it. Then I went to sleep, and woke up the next morning. *Bell Gong* o________o

How in the world am I supposed to expect people to get excited about Oyasumi Yumiko and its characters when… wait for it… THERE’S NOTHING TO READ. Uh, duh…

But I do that a lot. I get really excited about what could be, and don’t necessarily focus on what *needs to be* in place for things to even start.

So when I came to this “revelation,” though it really was a “no brainer,” I started thinking of the artist alley tables I’ve had in the past. I’ve had one consistently for 3 years – I started at a local con, Jampcon 2008, when I decided to finally go back to college. At the time it was the exposure and experience that I felt I needed in order to become a better artist, get feedback, and generally just *see* how the public would accept my work and my art. I would say honestly I’ve done fair at conventions. Not so great that I am rolling in money. But it wasn’t supposed to be about money, it was supposed to be about sharing my story with others and hearing their feedback.

In retrospect, I wonder if I should have just not bothered to get an artist alley table until I had something tangible and readable. Again when I started going to artist alley I was putting the cart before the horse. Going to ‘sell’ something that was non-existent. Sure I made all these characters, but there was no story to give them context.

Maybe it’s self-delusion, maybe it’s me trying to be more zen, but maybe I was putting this cart before horse because I was supposed to. Maybe somewhere in my jacked up mind I needed time to work with my characters, giving them adjustments here and there (Yumiko’s hairstyle took a few revisions), to where I felt comfortable saying… “Yes, this is Yumiko Nanahara, the apprentice Dreamweaver of Reverieh.” “Yes this is Yune. Yumiko’s personal dream companion.” And maybe I just needed time to boil up that water of self-determination and courage to see if I had what it takes to make it in Artist Alley and… just be out there professionally.

But now I realize it’s time to stop trying to push characters and push the story. That will take most if not all of my free time when I graduate (in 60 days.. Holla!!), and I hope everyone can eagerly await September 30th… b/c that is the release date I’m going to work towards.

So yeah, I’m ready to make Oyasumi Yumiko happen. I hope to not disappoint you all!

Yume ni nare! (Become a dream!)

-Emily

For a brief moment I felt overwhelmed, which is natural for me when I start a project. I think of all the things that need to be done and it overloads my mind – sometimes to the point where I crash and decide to walk away from it. That’s how I am pre-programmed to deal with things. I can’t handle too much – it’s almost as if every job/project/element has its own little voice and they are all talking to me at the same time, and I cannot concentrate. I was starting to feel frustrated, and I even wondered how I would be able to handle all of these plot points that are happening at the same time but ending at different spots. But I think these are common things to work out with any story.

Yumiko's Dreamhealer Outfit Design Comp.

Still, I won’t be deterred, because I can’t let myself down here. I had a dream one time where I was walking through a building, and I was stopped by two little girls. They looked up at me and they were holding my manga, and they asked if I was the one that wrote it. They clamored how much they loved it and it made me so happy. I want to entertain people by creating characters and stories. So I will try my very best, and make the one small goal for myself to have one booklet ready for Anime Weekend Atlanta. I’m going to try to shoot for the book ending around when Yumiko get’s her special powers. I figure that would be a good teaser for the next book.

I’m trying steadily to work on what I can while in the midst of work and my final bout of school. The summer and fall will be wide open for me, so I hope to have plenty for fans this year at AWA and maybe a mini-intro booklet for TAMEcon. (Sorry Anime Blast Chattanooga… I’ll be out of the country when you happen TT^TT).

Anyway, I’m off to make some revisions! Yahooooooo!

Yume ni nare! (Become a dream!)

-Emily

The drawing I did in my graylines sketchbook (those things are awesome!). I changed the position when I scanned it in before inking.

I do the line art for each character separately. Notice at this point how I'm not really clear on what I want Yune's arms to look like. (btw... totally going to make a decent watermark... someday... lol)

With the lineart being completed (well as far as I can tell for right now). I take it into Photoshop, and block out each part on each character. For example, in Photoshop the colors for bandit are broken out into - "skin" "wool" "bell" "collar" "pencil". The colors don't really matter right now, they are just a way for me to separate out everything.

Right now I am in the process of trying to create a bunch of windows. Because (if you were super awesome to read my test chapters when it was up) Yumiko’s first sight of Reverieh is a endless expanse of sky littered with floating windows in all shapes sizes and colors. Till next time!

Yume ni nare! (Become a dream!)

-Emily

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,300 times in 2010. That’s about 3 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 53 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 71 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 24mb. That’s about 1 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was May 28th with 35 views. The most popular post that day was An explanation why I don’t do fanart commissions..

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were deviantart.com, en.wordpress.com, WordPress Dashboard, stumbleupon.com, and emilymancuso.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for artist alley price, oyasumi, mareep pokemon, artist alley display, and artist alley vertical signage.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

An explanation why I don’t do fanart commissions. May 2010
10 comments

Artist Alley for Beginners May 2010
2 comments

Jampcon 2010 – Yumiko & Bandit in Artist Alley May 2010

Story September 2009

About September 2009

So yay! It’s 2011 – I got some big things happening this year. Yaaaay!

• Senior Thesis Presentation
• Graduation
• Japan
• Possible trip to Disneyworld*

(I put this one with a star because my parents asked what I wanted for my graduation gift. I said I wanted to go to Disneyworld together, because I haven’t gone since I was 10. But there is a big possibility this won’t happen because my mom’s employer went under, so she’s been out of a job for a while. So I told them not to worry about it because I know money is tight.)

… and last but not least…

• I’m finally starting a comic!

Yeah I know I know… like 3 years ago I foolishly exclaimed those words and what happened? (Insert 70s song…) Aboslutely nothin! Hyaaaaaa!

But seriously, I claim absolutely nothing was done, but that’s not being entirely honest. Alot was done. Most of it went to my education (which I started 2.5 years ago, boy how time flies!), and whatever I did towards Oyasumi Yumiko was spent either trying to develop the story/theme and just practicing on my illustrating skills.

In preparation for 2011, I organized my *ENTIRE* computer and laptop. For the longest time I had all my files I had ever created stuck in two folders — “collegeandart” and “collegeandart2″. I’m such a clever organizer… But I finally decided that if I was ever going to get any real work done I had to have things sorted so I could find them easily. So now my files are organized, and backed up on my external harddrive. I’m free to create!

Well sort of. School starts in 9 days, and I’m a little miffed that my vacation was so short. I was able to get so much done and actually felt inspired to make Oyasumi Yumiko drawings and everything.

Still, I will not be deterred. Oh no sir-re. Thankfully only 2 classes are left to finish out my degree, so whatever time that’s not put towards my Senior Thesis and my Self Branding materials will go to Yumiko. My goal to myself is to have a tiny comic booklet available at Anime Weekend Atlanta.

One of my resolutions for 2011 is to not be such a perfectionist. I will admit that I want things to look their best, and I got mad at myself because of my poor comic output last time (also I had zero time to crank out a page a week..) but this time I’m not going to obsess. Oyasumi Yumiko will be made to the best of my abilities (and time constraints hehe), and I fully accept that I still have a long ways to go in terms of learning and practicing.

For those that read the chapters that I housed on here a few months ago, that’s pretty much the basis for the first part of the comic. So a lot of the things that I might have had trouble explaining in text will *hopefully* make more sense with me making illustrations

Right now I’m making myself design and work on all the parts that go in those first 2-3 chapters of Oyasumi Yumiko. Such as Haru’s design (<—which is FINALLY done). Yumiko's school uniform (<– DONE) Haru's house design (<– done) Yumiko's house design (<– … sketch done… :lmao:)

I know that it will be a lot of work that I will have to do, but I think I can do it.

BTW, I'd like to thank everyone for the past three years and the years to come for taking a moment to look at my art, give feedback, buy a print or button, etc. Please understand that I used to have a real complex about showing others my artwork, and I'm just glad to see that people out there like it and support it. *Seriously* it makes me so happy. So thank you – thank you so much everyone! <3 <3 <3 <3

Here's to 2011 – it's time to go in with pencils, markers and pens a-blazin'!

Yume ni nare! (Become a dream!)

-Emily

My senior thesis project, kawaii chisai e.

Kawaii, the Japanese word for cute, is synonymous with many popular asian products. They evoke a feeling of nostalgia, warm feelings, and a general sense of glee at first glance. What are these cute objects that fascinate us so?

kawaii chisai e (cute little a), is a play off of the French term “object petit a” which is used in psychoanalysis. The meaning roughly condensed means, the unobtainable object of desire.

“The idea is that there are objects that ignite desire–they are the cause of desire, but the cause itself is hidden from direct view and so is ineffable and elusive. This cause that escapes our grasp (and yet creates it) reveals the reality of a lack–a void–in-the-world.” - http://crestondavis.wordpress.com/about/

For many kawaii things are the cause and the desire for escape. These friendly, pure, innocent creations that come from such a honest place attract us. Our reasons may be unclear as to why we seek these objects, but the draw is there. The world of the kawaii is that of a false reality. These ideals only exist in tangible forms: stuffed animals, stickers, paper, cartoons, posters, etc. We use these objects to peer into a world that we wish to enter. We wish to escape. However, the comforting world we see through this window is one that we cannot travel to. We can merely peer at it, from behind our real world glass, and simply reflect on its existence and our wish to be immersed in it.

Kawaii things have always been something I flock to, unknowingly and also un-apologetically. There are many reasons why I favor their friendly demeanor, despite the fact that my personality tends to be cynical and negative. Kawaii is my objet petit a, my reason and cause of desire. It’s a reason and cause for escape. The objects open windows that I gaze through with loving eyes, into a world that is never really real, never traversed, one that I can only view from my one side of the window. Each object I collect opens new windows, new otherworldly scenes that I can look to and reflect. Reflect to a time when things were simpler, purer, and free of stress, hurt, disappointment, negativity. Most windows are covered, with cloth or covers, to prevent those from the outside to peer in. However with my windows I am choosing not to cover what I really seek to see.

I fully acknowledge my desire to seek this world, this fake world, this sugary cute world, but realize that it is not of the real world. I acknowledge my desire for the escape, but I also acknowledge that humans, for the most part, are very similar. There are others who have kawaii things as their objet petite e, and I hope they can look through my window and know that I too recognize the cause and reason for their desire.

——————–

My draft for my Artist Statement. I only pray that I have understood some of the concepts behind Lacan’s “objet petit a” well enough to make the point I’m trying to make with it. I struggled with this project, and only through an enlightened high of caffeine, some heavy crying of uncertainty the week before, I came to this idea when I stopped looking.

kawaii sheep plush, prototype.

My intent with this project was to create a window overlooking a very calm yet kawaii scene. I only hope that the viewer looks up on it and has their own rush of nostalgia or other feelings and try to decipher why they may or may not be attracted to what they are viewing from the window. Are they pleased because it reminds them of a time in their past? or their childhood? Are they unimpressed because they have moved past such childish things? Why do they want to denounce their nostalgic feelings?

Maybe your reason is different. Maybe you reflect on it happily, maybe you don’t. Maybe your window over looks another scene, and if that is the case, feel free to create your own window, so others can see what your object of desire is. I can only tell you what I see, and only wait to hear what you see as well. (Beyond the notion of, “duhh… its sheep and clouds and stars.”)

-Emily

The doll body used is a 23cm Obitsu (ordered from JunkySpot), with a 27cm obitsu head in flesh tone. Compared to the white body version she does seem a little fleshy orangy, but the white is almost too white, so I’m using the white doll versions for Hydinia and Tsukihime. I used Parabox eye decals which I ordered from MimiWoo and ordered the wig off of ebay. I want to cut her pigtails, but don’t have the nerve to do it right now lol

Be warned though, if you wish to use eye decals they are not as ‘sticky’ as they claim. They will fall off when they dry, I tried spraying it with a sealant, but they arent fully flush with the face. Though the fix will help keep the eyebrows in place.

The heart was easy, just two rhinestones glued together. All I need to do now is find one of those celtic triquetra charms that they sell at a craft store to add to it. : )

I added eyes to my Tsukihime doll as well, but I won’t post a picture until her wig comes in. Now all I need is to have the dress, and make her staff. I think I’ll tackle the staff next.

Yume ni nare! (Become a dream!)

-Emily

These recent drawings came directly from my small sketch book, and this later one was originally a 1″x3″ thumbnail that I expanded upon. Hand proportions may not be exact, but at this point I don’t care. I got the expression I wanted first.

I’m wondering if I want to include some dialogue between a few of the characters, even if that means delving into parts of the story only a choice few have even been exposed to. There is tension between Reverieh-Yumiko and WakingWorld-Yumiko, between adolescence and emerging adulthood, between Yumiko, the protector, and Hydinia, the destroyer.

I have *a lot* of personal heartfelt things that I want to say with this work and with my entire project overall. While I’m going over my artist statement, that should be written while I’m making the work, I’m trying to remember why I keep going back to Oyasumi Yumiko, why I want to make this work, what I want to say, and *why* I feel the need to say it. Should be interesting… ;D

More will be posted as it develops. : )

Yume ni nare! (Become a dream!)

-Emily

PS – Tossing around Yumiko’s hero phrase, yknow, like how Sailormoon says “in the name of the moon, I’ll punish you!”… but hopefully not sound so similar. 疲れた世界の光のスレッド/Tsukareta sekai no hikari no sureddo (“a thread of light in a weary world!”) It’s a first attempt, and yes I’m using google translate, lol. Gotta start from somewhere ;D