Wednesday, November 30, 2011

When I had white wings...

So, as you might see, I needed a new blog header!

That's why I made this illustration. It is easily the piece that has taken me longest to finish - ever. It took over a week from start to finish. So I'm quite proud of it, even though not everything turned out the way I imagined it.

And since it's always cool to see when others do it, I'll post the rough sketch, clean pencil and final watercolor piece for you to see. ^^

[Edit: Oh, I got a Daily Deviation for this piece on Deviantart on December 5th, 2011! So proud of that! ^_________^  ]




Kairi Volume 3 Cover

And the last of the covers for Kairi.
After volume 3, the series was cancelled due to financial problems of the publisher. Almost all "Shogun" series got cancelled, actually, so Kairi was no exception.

The story remains unfinished, I myself have no clue as to how it ends.


Saturday, November 26, 2011

Wedding Menus


I hadn't posted this yet. This was what out menus looked like at our wedding! We had guests from 2 countries, so I came up with this to solve the issue of having bilingual menus. :)

I'm not that fond of how chibi "me" turned out, but I do like chibi Marc a lot! =D

Friday, November 25, 2011

"I Love Him to Pieces" Review: The Bulletin (July / August 2011)


The following review appeared in the July/August issue of The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books:

Storrie, Paul D. Made for Each Other; illus. by Eldon Cowgur. Graphic Universe, 2011 126p (My Boyfriend Is a Monster) Library ed. ISBN 978-0-7613-5601-1 $29.27 Paper ed. ISBN 978-0-7613-7077-2 $9.95 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-7613-7186-1 $21.95   R Gr. 6-8

Tsang, Evonne I Love Him to Pieces; illus. by Janina Görrissen. Graphic Universe, 2011 124p (My Boyfriend Is a Monster) Library ed. ISBN 978-0-7613-6004-9 $29.27 Paper ed. ISBN 978-0-7613-7079-6 $9.95 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-7613-7185-4 $21.95   R Gr. 6-8

"In these two opening titles in a graphic-novel series featuring unlikely romances between ordinary girls and their various monster loves, one girl falls hard for a boy who has mere hours before turning into a zombie that will then want to eat her, and another finds that her perfect new boyfriend is made up of reanimated corpse parts lovingly stitched together by his dad. Of course, true love is rarely smooth, and in this case, the heroines face not only the usual misunderstandings, insecurities, and intense feelings, but also flesh-eating zombies and jealous (and murderous) “siblings” cobbled together from dead bodies.

While neither book pushes the boundaries of graphic novels (both stick to fairly structured panels, black-and-white illustrations that mirror the text, and predictable comic-book-style exclamations and plot structuring), the mixing of romance and the supernatural, an obvious nod to Twilight and its ilk, may draw in readers new to the format. The gross factor (these are, after all, monsters) is present but downplayed in favor of the progression of the romances, with love more important than, say, the desire to eat your girlfriend’s brains. This series, with the flashy titles (each extended with a sequence of several funny subtitles), eye-catching covers, and popular themes, will easily attract readers; happily, they will be rewarded with sturdy plots and clever takes on human/monster love." AS

Thursday, November 24, 2011

"I Love Him to Pieces" Review: Publisher's Weekly (April 4)


The following review appears in the April 4 issue of Publishers Weekly:

My Boyfriend Is a Monster, #1: I Love Him to Pieces

Evonne Tsang and Janina Görrissen. Lerner/Graphic Universe, $9.95 trade paper (128p) ISBN 978-0-7613-7079-6

"Though it starts out feeling like a lighthearted realistic fiction story, this graphic novel turns into a zombie story partway through. Nerdy Jack Chen and athletic Dicey Bell become more than friends when their high school gives them a parenting assignment to watch over an egg as if it's their baby. The two continue to draw closer, despite their differences. While on a date, word comes through that an infection is causing people to more or less turn into zombies, and the area is supposed to be evacuated. Jack gets bitten by one of the zombies and is fed a special pill in hopes it can stop the infection from overtaking him. But he isn't actually a zombie, which makes the title somewhat misleading. The zombie story comes in abruptly after the cute first half of the book, and it almost feels as if this consists of two different stories only linked together because it has the same characters. The ending also happens too quickly. Görrissen's artwork is slick and attractive, and she clearly has a skill for facial expressions. Ages 11–up." (Apr.)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

"I Love Him to Pieces" Review: Booklist (March 15)


The following review appears in the March 15 issue of Booklist:

Booklist – March 15, 2011

I Love Him to Pieces.

By Evonne Tsang. Illus. by Janina Görrissen.

April 2011. 128p. Graphic Universe, paper, $9.95 (9780761370796); lib. ed., $29.27 (9780761360049). 741.5. Gr. 7-10.

"What happens when a baseball player and a goth nerd fall in love? The zombie apocalypse, of course. But jock Dicey is determined that she and Jack will survive—and maybe she’ll even finally get a kiss from him! Tsang and Görrissen’s entry in the new My Boyfriend Is a Monster graphic-novel series cashes in on the current zombie craze, but it does so with style and humor. Dicey and Jack are extremely likable characters—as are the bit players—and their young romance is crafted slowly enough to get readers invested in it. The middle section of the book gets rushed a bit when the zombies start appearing, but the final act, when the two teens try to fight their way out of embattled St. Petersburg, Florida, is scary and gory and exciting but not too bloody for a middle-school audience. Görrissen’s refreshing, black-and-white art gives the story a crisp, modern fell, with clearly individuated characters and realistic body types. A great beginning to a fun new series." –Francesca Goldsmith

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

2012 Texas Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List: "I Love Him to Pieces"


"I Love Him to Pieces has been named to the Texas Library Association’s 2012 Texas Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List!

The complete list can be found here:
http://www.txla.org/groups/Maverick."
Thanks, guys! And I'll forgive you for not getting my last name right (hardly anyone ever does).

"I Love Him to Pieces" Review: Kirkus Reviews (March 15)

Yeah, so it's already been 8 months since "I Love Him to Pieces" came out, and it never ocurred to me before to post the reviews I've been getting about it on this blog. Better late than never, right? I'll be posting them seperately, or it will be confusing.

The following review appears in the March 15 issue of Kirkus Reviews:
I LOVE HIM TO PIECES
Author: Tsang, Evonne
Illustrator: Görrissen, Janina

Review Date: March 15, 2011
Publisher:Graphic Universe
Pages: 128
Price ( Hardcover ): $29.27
Price ( Paperback ): $9.95
Price ( e-book ): $21.95
Publication Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-0-7613-6004-9
ISBN ( Paperback ): 978-0-7613-7079-6
ISBN ( e-book ): 978-0-7613-7185-4
Category: Fiction
Series: My Boyfriend is a Monster
Volume: 1

"Two teenagers fall for each other as a zombifying fungus stalks St. Petersburg, Fla., in this tongue-in-cheek romance. Paired up in school as an egg’s assigned “parents,” shy übernerd Jack Chen and irrepressible baseball star Dicey Bell feel a mutual draw—which is why they’re together, cutting class one day, when a sudden outbreak of mutant fungus turns nearly everyone into mindless, half-decayed killers. Though Dicey’s skill with a bat comes in handy for cranking up the body count, escape becomes an urgent priority when Jack is bitten. His scientist parents have a possible cure—but can they and the young fugitives hook up in time? Though so slow to get off the mark that the zombie action doesn’t even start until halfway through, the plot accelerates nicely thereafter, culminating in a wild drive in a tinkling ice-cream truck through crowds of slavering attackers. So vivacious are Jack and Dicey in Görrissen’s black-and-white art that readers will forgive the indistinct depictions of violence and the untidy way dialogue balloons spill over into adjacent panels. Simultaneously published with volume two, a tale with a different cast and setting titled Made for Each Other, written by Paul D. Storrie and illustrated by Eldon Cowgur. A hoot from opening salvo (“JACK CHEN, YOU’RE THE FATHER OF MY BABY!”) to closing clinch." (Graphic novel. 11-13)

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Kairi Volume 1 Cover

Somehow I never posted the cover illustrations for Kairi, at least not in a decent size or by themselves, so I'll be adding them now, despite the fact that I did them years ago. I still like them, anyway. They're from 2008.

So here are the front and back illustrations for volume 1.


Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Aikido Inu



Just a little Illustrator practice. First thing I've ever completely rendered in that program.

This image is available for sale in my ToonPool Shop as a license-free download (for professional use) and on t-shirt!


Related illustrations: