Moving to Squarespace

After much debate I made the decision to move webhosts. It was not a decision I made lightly, as I've been with my former host ICDSoft for 11 years (!!!) But I did feel like it was time for a change. After all 11 years of digital baggage is a lot to carry around. (Note: I still really like ICDSoft for pure speed, fast support, uptime, and FTP style DYI hosting.)

My new hosting choice: Squarespace. Why? I fell for the slick and minimalist portfolio designs that they offered. I liked the ease of use and ease of updating. I also liked their SEO features, namely the ability to make clear urls for each image in a gallery. I liked how I was also able to ditch Lightbox in favor of images that can actually be paged through.

Being the type who has done a mix of handcoding html and css, and also used a combination of sliced Photoshop files and Dreamweaver, the change was even more marked for me. But in the end my thought was that giving up some of this in favor of a more responsive and more modern portfolio might be worth it. I am curious to see how it works going forward.

Note: The URL for my portfolio site remains the same: www.LDiehl.com.

My blog, will also be moving to the new site, that means that the RSS feed will change to: https://laura-diehl.squarespace.com/ldiehl-blog/?format=rss

So please re-subscribe above if you'd like to continue receiving updates!


Please excuse the construction dust as I build and move into my new home. (And do let me know if you find anything broken.)

Starspun Comic Launch!

I'm super excited to announce that my brand new shiny online graphic novel has gone live at StarspunComic.com! This is a personal project that I've had in development for many years 'on the side.' Now I've finally taken those first important steps to get it out there into the world.

Please see the blog post there for further information. If you like the project please spread the word.

Enjoy!

Starspun: Poppy and the Nightmirror - Book Cover

Den Eviga Eldens Magi - Project Completion!

Today I turned in the final batch of images for my extensive 'Magi' project with publisher Lilla Piratförlaget and author Patrik Bergström.

I made the image below to commemorate the sheer amount of work I created for this fantasy children's series. Like the image says: 5 covers, 45 interiors (!!!), 5 chapter headings and 1 map. I feel like I've just crossed the finish line to a long, yet satisfying art marathon.

Link: Publisher's site for this series.
Link: Author's site for this series.

In the Land of Magnanthia - Book Cover

Just recently finished up a fun book cover for author B.R. Maul. Below is the custom cover I painted for In the Land of Magnanthia, which is book #1 of his Portals, Passages, & Pathways series. It's a teen/young adult novel that involves two teenage boys with very different destinies in a colorful fantasy world far from Earth.



Find out more about the book and author:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G1Y98HA
Website/Blog: http://brmaul.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PortalsPassagesPathways
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BRMaul_author

Cover Painting

Cover with Title Text

Process Animation

Happy Owlidays

Wishing you and your loved ones Happy Owlidays! Here's this year's card from my family to yours: =)

Happy Fall!

Just sharing a "quick" one-day image that I was inspired to do today. I have been quite busy with art for an upcoming project that I can't share quite yet. But soon!

Fall is a favorite season of mine and I love lanterns and bright colored leaves. So I thought I'd combine the two. Trying to stay a little rougher with this but still give a sense of light and depth.

Happy Fall!

Review: Intuos Creative Stylus for iPad

I was very excited to receive the new Intuos Creative Stylus for iPad in the mail today -at least until I tried it.

Don't get me wrong, it's great to look at and has a nice solid feel in my hand. As a long-time Wacom user (my current workhorse is a XL Intuos4) I appreciate that this pen feels just as well made as that of a proper Intuos. That said, I think I'll be returning this one, my gripes:

1.) It "sticks" majorly to the iPad's screen as I'm trying to draw with it. This lends a highly unpleasant "gummy" feeling to every stroke and serves up just enough friction to make little jaggies everywhere.

2.) It relies on software implementation to actually make use of the pressure sensitivity. In the three supported apps I tried (Procreate, Bamboo Paper, and ibisPaint X) none of them seemed to integrate this very well. In Procreate, for example, you have to really monkey with brush settings to get any hint of pressure sensitivity and often end up with brushes that are hair-thin, ghost light, or blobby.

3.) The pressure threshold at which the pen actually engages feels really high. Meaning I have to press far harder than I'd like, creating far more friction (the aforementioned sticking problem) than is enjoyable to draw with. Now maybe this isn't an issue for someone with a strong hand and heavy touch.... but it's far from the hand gliding effortlessly over the drawing surface (ah-la a real Intuos pen) that I'm looking for.

Bonus: I just tested the non brush end of my Sensu brush and even it feels better than this Intuos pen for sketching and drawing on my iPad. Though it is made of a similar rubber material it actually glides quite well on the iPad surface.

Looks like there is a proper pressure sensitive tablet somewhere in my future. But for now it looks like I'll have to wait a while more as Intuos Creative Stylus just doesn't do the trick for me.

Links:

http://intuoscreativestylus.wacom.com/en/
https://www.sensubrush.com/