Originally Posted To My Waterfall!

Originally Posted to my Waterfall!

So let’s have a context-copy-paste from there: 

The old-ish stuff! (part 2) Classic Batgirl!

Now we get to the good stuff, AKA, Batgirl!

(Done pre-Wacom tablet upgrade.)

Now if you were to ask me what my favourite incarnation of Barbara Gordon is, honestly, I'd be torn between two:

--Batgirl of Burnside

and

--1966 Batman

Interestingly enough; Batgirl of Burnside draws incredibly heavy on Yvonne Craig's influence on Batgirl, and it's not hard to see why.

See, originally, Batgirl as an identity wasn't meant to be a side-kick (that was a 1990's post-zero hour retcon! And a messy one at that!)

Batgirl was basically meant to stand on equal footing with Batman; she was an ally, not a copy. Inspired by but not working for nor under. That was pretty much established in her debut episode, in fact! She loved what he stood for, but had her own way; a much more empathetic, working-with-the-people approach!

That carries on to the current run today! So, wheras Bruce nowadays is happy to inspire fear and act as a semi-urban-legend, Barbara wants to be right on the street with the people--using a combo of criminal psychology with the most updated tech!

It's fascinating really!

But I digress.

While Burnside put emphasis on the practical design, the 1960's were all about stage presence! Something I wanted to capture here, using Yvonne Craig's history as a champion Ballerina!

It's actually a lot of fun to see how or if you can truly meld fight-coreography with the grace of dance...and ya know, I think it can be done. But I wanna explore and push it more!

(via 'Batgirl's Ballet ' Transparent Sticker by Amy-Fay)

My classic Batgirl piece, now available as a sticker, a mug design, on notebooks, as a greeting card and much more!! Feel free to check it out! 

I’ve opened a redbubble shop! And just in time, in fact, to debut my new design sets “Figures”--a series of prints and paintings inspired by the graceful art of figure skating! 

Come check it out; at the least you might get some gift ideas! 

Source

“Image Credit: Carol Rossetti

When Brazilian graphic designer Carol Rossetti began posting colorful illustrations of women and their stories to Facebook, she had no idea how popular they would become. 

Thousands of shares throughout the world later, the appeal of Rosetti’s work is clear. Much like the street art phenomenon Stop Telling Women To Smile, Rossetti’s empowering images are the kind you want to post on every street corner, as both a reminder and affirmation of women’s bodily autonomy. 

“It has always bothered me, the world’s attempts to control women’s bodies, behavior and identities,” Rossetti told Mic via email. “It’s a kind of oppression so deeply entangled in our culture that most people don’t even see it’s there, and how cruel it can be.”

Rossetti’s illustrations touch upon an impressive range of intersectional topics, including LGBTQ identity, body image, ageism, racism, sexism and ableism. Some characters are based on the experiences of friends or her own life, while others draw inspiration from the stories many women have shared across the Internet. 

“I see those situations I portray every day,” she wrote. “I lived some of them myself.”

Despite quickly garnering thousands of enthusiastic comments and shares on Facebook, the project started as something personal — so personal, in fact, that Rossetti is still figuring out what to call it. For now, the images reside in albums simply titled “WOMEN in english!“ or ”Mujeres en español!“ which is fitting: Rossetti’s illustrations encompass a vast set of experiences that together create a powerful picture of both women’s identity and oppression.

One of the most interesting aspects of the project is the way it has struck such a global chord. Rossetti originally wrote the text of the illustrations in Portuguese, and then worked with an Australian woman to translate them to English. A group of Israeli feminists also took it upon themselves to create versions of the illustrations in Hebrew. Now, more people have reached out to Rossetti through Facebook and offered to translate her work into even more languages. Next on the docket? Spanish, Russian, German and Lithuanian.

It’s an inspiring show of global solidarity, but the message of Rossetti’s art is clear in any language. Above all, her images celebrate being true to oneself, respecting others and questioning what society tells us is acceptable or beautiful.

“I can’t change the world by myself,” Rossetti said. “But I’d love to know that my work made people review their privileges and be more open to understanding and respecting one another.””

From the site: All images courtesy Carol Rossetti and used with permission. You can find more illustrations, as well as more languages, on her Facebook page.

Originally posted to my Waterfall! 

So let’s have a context-copy-paste from there: 

(Done pre-Wacom tablet upgrade.)

Minor copy and paste for context:

Originally, Batgirl as an identity wasn't meant to be a side-kick (that was a 1990's post-zero hour retcon! And a messy one at that!)

Batgirl was basically meant to stand on equal footing with Batman; she was an ally, not a copy. Inspired by but not working for nor under. That was pretty much established in her debut episode, in fact! She loved what he stood for, but had her own way; a much more empathetic, working-with-the-people approach!

That carries on to the current run today! So, wheras Bruce nowadays is happy to inspire fear and act as a semi-urban-legend, Barbara wants to be right on the street with the people--using a combo of criminal psychology with the most updated tech!

It's fascinating really!

--End flashback.

Now this is the point where I'd actually started to really question my sense of style.

In drawing, that is; but we've all had those moments, right? "What makes my art distinct? What sets it apart?"

And I realised, for me, it's the expression in the brow and eyes...and somehow, I don't think I'd quite been hitting that.

I was so self-conscious of being too stylised for some reason, I could never pin it down; was I afraid of my work being seen as too 'manga-ish?' Too 'feminine', too 'flouncy?' Especially if I want to work in mainstream comics?

But it's when I sat down and really looked at my work...I realised that, so what?

Babs Tarr is my favourite artist in comics...ever, and she got to fully embrace how she drew because it worked. You were drawn in by the expression and then stayed because her figures bounced so easilly from panel to panel.

And...that's just how she draws! And there's nothing wrong with that.

Now, I'm nowhere near as good as Tarr--but I want to improve and part of that is, just simply, accepting what I like to see in my own drawings. Specifically; large, expressive eyes and unapologetically illustrated faces!

It's a start and I'm proud of that.

...Now as for the backgrounds, yeah, those need work from the ground up!

Gosh this moment is so adorable