Kristen Maslanka's Fantastic Realities

I am ever a fan of Historical Drama's and I find a particular fancy for those with excellent costuming. I've been enjoying watching Versailles. Most of all for the fantastic acting and witty script. However, one character (Philippe 1, Duc d'Orleans ) is a favorite in history for me so I was delighted to see him brought to life on the screen thus! I couldn't help but combine my appreciation for the show with my love for portraiture. I've been studying many baroque portraits as of late and I'd lend my prominent inspiration for this piece to Van Dyck and his work.

Some character/costume exploration for my post-apocalyptic story Skip to My Loo. Designing with the story in mind is one of the most rewarding aspects of my career. I like to set aside a chart of different aspects that make this character who they are to determine what they'd look like, how they'd dress, and of course how important they are to the narrative. (It also helps me to write down what aspects of their character will change so I know what aspects of their visuals may change.)  For Skippy, imagine if Snake Plissken from Escape LA met Michelle Rodriguez. She's a loner, she's aggressive- and because of that, even her anatomy is sharp! She's a scavenger, so her outfit has to be suited for her position and the environment as she travels. Marc, on the other hand, is a young boy who is a product of his upbringing. He's been raised most of his life by two fairly middle-class parents.  His character is a cross between Kevin from Home alone and Mar...

After attending business school Evan and his boyfriend invested their savings to purchase the Shipping and Mail center where they got their first big break as kids. But when the shop is broken into, Evan takes it upon himself to locate the thieves and bring them to justice. After his success, Evan dons the vigilante title "Packing Heat" and tapes up criminals to protect small businesses everywhere while his boyfriend works behind the scenes to locate them. Packing Heat leaves behind business cards of mom n pop shops as his M.O

I'm always excited when the Olympics come along. It's a great chance to watch people from all over the world defy odds, come together and make history. As an added bonus, it's great to study and draw from. Anyhow, I wanted to feature some of my favorite overwatch characters in different Olympic sports. It's been a lot of fun trying to study each of the costumes for the sports and each of the props they use. 

We've all had those moments: You have an idea, a great idea but it's not yet visceral. Maybe it's an emotion or a vague image, but the more you try to find it the more you come up with new ideas and none of them end up on the page because you're not sure which to start with! While that a great start, it's not very helpful for solidifying a concept. When I run into issues like that I just sketch. Messy or no, I get it onto the page and see what I can. I explore the character through the drawing and compare it to that hint of an idea I started with. Ironically I learned this through storyboarding- you won't know if a camera angle will or won't work until you sketch it out and see it. The same applies for me for character design. In this case, I have a character who is insane. I know that I want her to have a poor relationship with technology, but I'm not certain if I want her to have embraced her enslavement by it, or completely left it behind and ...