Shobana Rajakumari Appavu, a.k.a. BOB -- Blog

Prints!

2009-09-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Prints of my artwork are finally available again! Check out my gallery at Imagekind and pick up a few for yourself! ^_^

The Fire Dragon's Son

2009-04-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

Just a quick fun 1/2-weekend project. With Unholy and work, I haven't had too much time for other illustrations. I've had a lot of dragon ornaments to design at work lately, so I guess I kind of have dragons on the brain... I think of this dude as maybe a dragon master or summoner or maybe a shape shifter, not a literal offspring of dragons. Disclaimer: do not try to turn your head backwards this far.

On a side note, I'm still debating where I'll post/archive the new pages of Unholy. I might give it its own website... Whenever I make a decision, I'll let people know. ^_^

Wrapping up 2008

2008-12-31T21:12:00.000-08:00

I didn't think I'd get another illustration in for the year, but I really wanted to do a self portrait for 2008, since I didn't do any in 2007. Well, here it is! It looks just a touch manlier than I look in real life (oops), but I'm actually happy with it other than that -- but let's see how I feel about it in 2009, a.k.a. tomorrow.

I don't know why, but I just had so much fun doing this picture. It was one of those moments where I felt like I was starting to learn how to draw. ^_^

Too many birds!

2008-12-29T17:21:00.000-08:00

The Carolina parakeet was the only parrot native to the United States. Sadly, the species is now extinct. This illustration is just a bird lover's fantasy of a place where parrots are as plentiful as the leaves on a tree.

I actually first got this picture in my head during my sophomore year of college, when we were assigned to do an illustration for a charity. At the time, though, I knew I couldn't pull it off. So three years later, I finally decided to give it a shot!

Another "new" illustration

2008-12-07T17:46:00.000-08:00

I originally did the rough pencil sketch for this back in college, but I never carried it through to the finished version. So this week I did some editing to the sketch and then finished it up! It's an illustration of a rain goddess of sorts. When she cries, it rains.

"Storm Clouds"

When I get a chance, I'll probably add it to the "portfolio" page on my website.

Recent and Semi-Recent Stuffs

2008-11-30T22:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a bit of what I've been up to, from newest to oldest. (Click the images to see them larger.)

Wood Fairy

This one, finished yesterday, is a little drawing of a wood fairy. I wanted to play around with camouflage, and I was mildly amused by the idea of Spanish moss as hair, so I threw that in as well.

Portrait of Pogo

Just because I was going through digital painting withdrawal... It's been cropped in, hence the wacky composition.

Sexy Man Roll

This quickie illustration was done in honor of a friend. It's named after a kind of sushi we saw advertised at a restaurant in Sarasota. It of course incorporates the famous twin brothers Julius and Mason.

"Natures" Sketches

And finally, some more flying ferrets. These are some character sketches for a story I'm working on, which takes place in the real world as well as in a world where souls or "natures" dwell. Each character is depicted in both worlds, and the activities of their human forms impact their souls.

While most of the souls/natures are a bit fantastical in appearance, they're still mostly humanoid overall -- with the exception of this character, whose soul is a Chinese dragon-like flying ferret. ^_^

I plan to do a full illustration of this ferret-creature in the near future, once I get the design nailed down.

A few sketches from last weekend

2008-09-04T23:31:00.000-07:00

Just a few sketches from Labor Day weekend. I went to Sarasota and got to see my awesome friends who are still down south. (Best weekend ever!) It's always great being around people who inspire you to keep making artwork, despite any kind of grueling daily routine that may get in the way.

Concept sketch for Unholy. I'm working on redesigning the environment, this being Remi's church (disguised as a supermarket).

I hadn't drawn Annie for awhile, so I figured I'd do a quick little sketch of her and Pogo. She's one of the few thieves who outrank him in terms of skill!

And a random little thing I scribbled while waiting to board the plane back to Chicago. Because who wouldn't want a giant flying ferret that they could take with them to the beach?

Unholy - Character Redesigns

2008-08-30T22:42:00.001-07:00

I lost a good chunk of my high-res layered comic pages in a hard drive crash, so I figured that if I'm gonna have to redo a bunch of pages, I might as well redo them way better. So I'm going back and redesigning everything with more of a critical mindset, including both the characters and the environments. The goal is to get the look and style of the comic much more defined.

I had some rather interesting inspirations for these new designs, but they're definitely more suited to the general mood that I always intended for this story. I'll eventually put these up on my actual website, but I don't have time right at the moment.

(click images to see them larger)

And individually:

This is what I do with my spare time

2008-03-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

I've been very busy with work for the past three months, and it's taken me awhile to get used to the schedule, and especially the commute. I find that I don't have much time to myself at all, but luckily I'm finally adjusting and am getting better at finding moments when I can do some artwork.

This weekend I just wanted to do a quick piece to get back in the swing of things. And it turned out... well... um... ^_^

What's really scary is that this isn't even the first human/sausage illustration I've done! Anyway, I'm gonna get back into doing some "prettier" and more fully rendered art in the future, as well as getting back into Unholy!!!

Eye Candy

2007-10-31T16:06:00.000-07:00

Just a little picture + bad pun for Halloween!

This is what happens when monsters run out of candy and have to find something else to give. ^_^

Watercolor, white ink.

"Eye Candy"

All Hail the Bad Pun!

2007-10-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

This was done pretty much for the sake of traumatizing people.

Watercolor, and a bit of white ink.

Woohoo, Carpal Tunnel!

2007-10-13T22:29:00.001-07:00

Been busy with some interviews and freelance projects, but I'm itching to be more busy! Gotta keep working at getting my portfolio out there...

I plan on resuming Unholy in the very, very near future. I'm just waiting for my chance to get off this seven-year-old computer that can't quite handle the files. Until then, I am holding off my urge to work on it by doing some Unholy-themed illustration. I had lots of fun with this one; it was somehow very therapeutic.

And some detail shots!

You can purchase this, and two dozen or so other pieces, as prints!

Another... watercolor?

2007-10-01T12:41:00.002-07:00

Achilles and Patroclus

This piece was inspired by Book 16 of the Iliad, where Achilles sends Patroclus out to battle in his place, then prays to Zeus for his safe return. This of course doesn't happen. Patroclus is wounded first by a spear between the shoulder blades, then another from Hector, straight through his gut and out the back.

Flying free of his limbs
his soul went winging down to the House of Death,
wailing his fate, leaving his manhood far behind,
his youth and supple strength. But glorious Hector
taunted Patroclus' body, dead as he was, "Why, Patroclus--
why prophesy my doom, my sudden death? Who knows?--
Achilles the son of sleek-haired Thetis may outrace me--
struck by my spear first -- and gasp away his life!"

(Robert Fagles translation)

Copic multiliner, white ink, watercolor.

How Do You Hide A Giant?

2007-09-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

My newest completed illustration.

And the line work:

Illustrator Junks

2007-08-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

Heh... I wanted to prove that I'm not lying when I say I work in multiple styles.

I'm sure everyone knows that old joke... "What's worse than finding a worm in your apple?"

And here's a random dancing ferret.

I'm also currently working on another illustrator piece (a paper doll thing), as well as two pen and ink pieces. Will post again soon!

Trying something a little different...

2007-07-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Here are Julius and Mason. Because we all know that overweight 3-year-old twins with pointy heads and mustaches are the ultimate in marketable.

I think I'm gonna redo the text. It's icky right now. But anyway, here's a little sketch of Julius running.

Sadly, I think we might be seeing more of these two guys in the future...

Random "Unholy" Sketches

2007-05-30T17:49:00.001-07:00

Just some random drawings, because I enjoy drawing fake technology and illustrating how random pieces of clothing work.

The text at the bottom says: "Pogo is addicted to male potency pills, thus this functional belt serves as coverage." Thank God!

And here are the little earpieces they all wear to communicate with one another. And Pogo's earring, for some odd reason...

Right now, I'm also working on some sketches that will later be used for a sculpture. The character is a wizard from another story I've been working on. Sketches of her to come soon.

Welcome to Bob's Blog!

2007-05-22T00:28:00.000-07:00

Just a quick introductory message. Welcome to my blog! I plan to use this space to post new artwork as it's created. Also, be sure to check out my website, Bob-Artist.com!