Kristen Maslanka's Fantastic Realities

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

Recently, I purchased " The Whole Seed Catalog from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds 2018." Every page is filled with colorful and detailed photographs of fruits and vegetables galore. I decided to challenge myself and create a creature a day inspired by one photograph a page. I started a little timidly, with more loose sketches, then honed  into creating one creature each challenge. This has been an inspiring challege, and something I intend to continue and learn from. (( As an added bonus I'm learning more about Botanics!))

Honestly, there's nothing like sitting back with your sketchbook and just playing around with doodles and fun designs. It's a great opportunity to work on aspects I can improve *coughhandscough* and on new materials or methods! 

Inktober 23- Juicy. Remember plucking those juicy peaches right off the tree and trying not to drip everywhere? Inktober 28-- The Fall 

October 20th was Jackal and October 21'st was Demigod, which I thought quite apropos! Firstly, I adore jackals, and secondly, I adore the jackal-headed god Anubis. When I was younger a friend of mine had a birthday at Universal Studios where they had just put in a Mummy walkthrough haunted-house type thing. My friends and I decided to dare to tackle going through it by playing our roleplay characters and making a game of it.  W e were young and thus very easily scared. The 'spookers' jumped out at us and chased us down the hall, lights flickered and screams from people we'd never met echoed down the halls.  However, we had an obsession with dogs and mythology and frequently brought her pups as characters in our roleplaying. Because of that we looked to the Anubis statues to "guide us" we larped our way out of that haunted house, following Anubis as our guide. What would have been a maze, fortunately, wasn't for us because the Anubis statues appare...