We Are Groot

Are y'all sick of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" fever that's swept the Internet? Too bad! Because I caught it too. My short, spoiler-free review is that it was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had in a movie theatre. It was just...joy. There are plenty of better films from recent years, plenty that I have enjoyed thoroughly, but GotG is the first movie since, well, ever, that had both me and my roommate laughing, clapping, cheering, and dancing in our seats for two hours.

So, naturally I drew some fan art, of the show-stealing Groot and Rocket Raccoon (not necessarily in their film incarnations, but, my own versions of them). And proceeded to nearly destroy it while inking!

Oops.

Elizabeth's Canvas

Whew!

The last two months have quite literally been the busiest since I began freelancing back in 2012. Between the sudden onslaught of my "day job" storyboard projects, and the release of Madame Frankenstein (#2 hits stores on Wednesday!), I have been at my drawing table nonstop with a few breaks to eat, sleep, run, and occasionally sneak off to yoga to stretch myself back out of a permanent hunchback shape.

So it comes a bit late in the game that I share with you guys my newest project, contributing art to a short story in the IDW anthology "Elizabeth's Canvas".

I was introduced to the project by Jud Meyers and Scott Tipton of Blastoff Comics, where I spent Free Comic Book Day last month. You can read a bit about the idea behind this book over at Bleeding Cool. I was immediately drawn to the mission of the organization Elizabeth's Canvas---to provide creative outlets for cancer patients through free classes in art, writing, dance, and other forms of creative expression. The idea is that art can be a very powerful form of therapy during cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

The most exciting and humbling part of this is that the story I'm drawing is that of Elizabeth herself, whose personal battle against breast cancer and discovery of self-expression and healing through her art inspired her son to create this organization. The script is written by Chris Ryall and Scott Tipton, and I'm a few pages away from completing pencils. It's been a great opportunity to do the kind of work I feel I'm best at---highly emotional character work---and to hopefully help expose a larger audience to the work that the great people at Elizabeth's Canvas are doing.

Stay tuned here and to my Twitter feed for more news about this project!

Madame Frankenstein

So, today it's official.

Jamie S. Rich and I have spent the last several months creating a monster...MADAME FRANKENSTEIN. This morning, Image Comics posted the press release for this 7-part miniseries, the first issue of which hits comic book stores on May 7th. I've been teasing samples of artwork from this book since I started on it last year, but now you guys can see what it's all been about, and start getting excited for it to hit shelves!

Let's Dance

Some exciting milestones for me and my comics, as summer comes to its official end (now, if someone would just please tell Southern California that summer is over, because the triple digit temps are seriously overstaying their welcome). First off, I just completed pencils and inks on my first full-length graphic novel, and second project with Jamie S. Rich!

Damn, that's a lot of pages...

Of course, the kicker is I still have to COLOR all 120 pages. But hey, I'm allowed to celebrate a little! Drawing 120 pages is no joke, and it's my biggest undertaking as an artist to date. After spending almost a year with this story and the characters, I'm a little sad to leave them behind, but fortunately, I have my next project already lined up...

Jamie and I are collaborating again, on a project with a slightly different tone for both of us...horror! Good thing I stocked up on ink! These will be the characters you'll see in my sneak peek photos and hear about in my tweets in the coming months. (Are you following me on Twitter yet? No? Why not? @SadMeganGirls!) 

Back to the drawing table! 

Have Your Cake And Eat It Too

I've been drawing this character, Will, for over 9 months and 100 pages now. And yet this panel might be my favorite image of him I've done so far:

"Hell's Treasure" Kickstarter Campaign is LIVE!!

Grab your wallets and dump out your change jars, because the Kickstarter campaign to fund "Hell's Treasure" is live! 

I'm a little late posting this to the blog, but the campaign will run through August 18, so any little bit of help you can give brings us closer to me having the budget to illustrate this entire graphic novel, in full glorious color, and bring this fantasy story to life. 

Here's a couple more pages if you're not convinced! 

No Angel

While my and Jamie S. Rich's upcoming book for Oni Press has occupied most of my free time these days, we're coming up on the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to fund another graphic novel I contributed artwork to! 

I'll link to the campaign once it goes live, but in the meantime, here's a teaser of my process for first pitch page (page 45 of the final book, to be exact) of "Hell's Treasure" by Robert Jeschonek. 

Pencils

Inks

Final Color

Who's That Girl?

No, it's not Zooey Deschanel. (*cringe*) It's It Girl! Jamie S. Rich tapped me to do a pin-up of the title heroine of It Girl and the Atomics for this summer's upcoming trade paperback, and I took the term "pin-up" a bit literally.

Issue #10 of It Girl and the Atomics comes out tomorrow, May 15th, at comic stores everywhere and on ComiXology for you digital types!

Pretty Poison

A quickie color sketch done today, while watching a few episodes of my favorite childhood cartoon..."Batman: The Animated Series"! I drew a lot of inspiration as an illustrator from Bruce Timm's designs for that series, particularly his drawings of women.

Shadow

Better

These busy couple of weeks have kept me from my sketchbook, and from the blog! Today's random doodle is brought to you by a morning spent in the juror assembly room. :)

The First Avenger

Under the Milky Way

My Etsy Store is NOW OPEN!

Bom dia!

A quick post this morning to let everyone on this blog know that some of the drawings you've admired over the last few months can now be purchased from my Etsy store! For sale right now are several original drawings that debuted on this blog. If you had a favorite piece (Zou Bisou Bisou, anyone?), here's your chance to own it for yourself at Megan Levens Art.

I'll be constantly adding to the shop with prints, paintings, and possibly comic pages as well. I'm also available for commission work, so if I haven't yet drawn your favorite character...just ask and you shall receive.

Beijos!

Come Fly With Me

It figures my first piece of fan art from "The Dark Knight Rises" would be of Selina Kyle, and that it wouldn't even be of her in her Catwoman suit...but rather, in her fabulous airport outfit. I want that hat!

SDCC

Comic-Con! My Twitter feed and Facebook page have been lit up with news, events, and photos from San Diego already this week. This is actually the first year since I moved to California that I haven't gone to SDCC.

There's a lot to love about a gathering of like-minded geeks and talented artists in one space. I always somehow talked myself into going year after year because I knew I would see friends there that I almost never see otherwise. Comic-Con, for me, was a big reunion, and for that, it was worth the crowds, the smells, the angry pen-wielding Harry Potter fans, and spending a year's vacation budget on a hotel room only to sleep on the floor.

This year, it just got too big, and all of those people I went every year to see decided not to go. So this was the year that I stayed home too. Especially after the extreme drama of last year's event, I'm relieved to be at home and in my normal routine.

But, in the spirit of Comic-Con, here are some of my sketchbook entries from last year's tumultuous SDCC weekend. :-)

Burguesinha

Finished the colors up. This is a little more muted and flat than my coloring tends to be, but I kind of like it. What do you think?

Happiness Hit Her Like A Bullet In The Back

Sometimes, a wonderful thing can actually just end up nearly killing you.

You Can Stand Under My Umbrella-ella-ella...

This has been a backburner piece for a while, but I finally finished up the colors for my "Only Happy When It Rains" illustration.

Home

I just got back from a few days visiting my parents back home in Missouri. It was my dad's birthday, and I needed a change of scenery before LA made me crazy. (OK, crazier.) I never do much drawing when I'm home, but I managed a few sketches of some of the wildlife during this last visit.