Snugglepus

Commissioned by my old friend, Jamie.

Cooking With Snape

Commissioned by my old friend, Alisha.

Happy Birthday, Willow!

Birthday wishes for my BFF! Willow in Halo armor. Kill, pussycat, kill!

Tea For Two

Commissioned by my friend, Jamie, and too entertaining to not put on Uly's Comics.

Didn't You Know?

LGBT/etc. Pridefest is coming up in my area, and so I thought I'd do a little tribute for my friends and family across the rainbow. I'd have liked to put more terms on the rainbow, but as one can see, I was a little pressed for space... so I did the first to come to mind.
Terms, from left-to-right: Gay; Bisexual; Lesbian; Asexual; Queer; Demisexual; Pansexual; Straight; Cisgender; Androgynous; Bigender; Transgender; Neutrios; Two-Spirit; Omnisexual; Agender; Genderqueer; Questioning.
And yes, 'straight' and 'cisgender' belong on the spectrum: they're orientations and genders, too.
Oh, and did I mention I'm chopping off all my hair? Cartoon Uly gets a makeover.

My Treat To You.

Let me take to the time to apologize for lack of comics lately. I've been very busy, and honestly, going through some rough personal patches. With school out and graduation parties every week, I haven't had much time to sit down and whip up comics like I'm used to. Summer's also in swing, which means wedding season. And because I do work for a DJ/Mobile entertainment company, that means weekends manning music or photo-booths for events. As far as those rough personal patches go, be assured that they're working themselves out.
I hate to be a downer, but I'm not sure when my schedule will clear up. Thank you for all your visits even though there haven't been regular updates. You guys give me so much support.
I may not have a comic now, but I can do this much: here are some illustrations and random bits of work from my archives. Enjoy, and thank you for all your patience. -Uly

Have a great day/night, everyone. New comic soon. Fingers crossed.

Welcome to InsomniaLand!

A cartoon commissioned by a friend for an insomniacs' forum site, Insomnia Land.

Oh, Amaya, Amaya...

For any of you familiar with ramblings (most of you), you undoubtedly recognize this face.
For anyone not familiar, this Amaya Ta'al Aalya (the twelfth). He's one of the five primary characters in the book I'm working on. In a nutshell, he's the crown prince of their world, a renowned alcoholic, closeted opium addict, and never ends a night without a woman or man (he doesn't care) in his bed. I would say that he's a musician, but he hasn't played or composed in years (by book's timeline). He delved into his drug and promiscuity-riddled lifestyle after the death of his lover (their relationship was an affair; she was married) and a head injury (by fault of lover's husband); since has been pretty much lonely and sour. (Not to mention repressing the bad memories.)
The significance of the quote beside him is great; right now in the book, he was recently (and unwillingly) forced into intervention (from alcohol and opium, and everything else maladaptive he does) via his father's mistress (Yusu) and her concerns. During the first day of withdrawal, Yusu reasoned for her ordering the intervention as freeing him from drugs' prison; he replied that "A prison is better than hell". This portrait of him reflects as he's feeling now; but really, I think that line reflects how he always feels. In the grand scheme of the book, Amaya's character is always turning to one bad thing to avoid another, somehow thinking it better.
On semi-related note, I quite like this portrait of him; usual drawings of him look deviously pleased or cunning. Which he is, most the time, but that's really only the beginning to him. I also feel I've really captured him this time, what with being clean for some time and rather whittled to his deep self. It's sort of depressing, but this face is the true face of Amaya. Also, I'd like to note on his thinness; he's always been slender, but since sobriety, he's lost most interest in food and is resistant to do much else but lie in bed. In short, without drugs/promiscuity to distract him from his unresolved past, he's getting the brunt of his depression, and getting it hard. It's sad for me to see him this way- I know, I know, I wrote it this way- but characters really do make their own path sometimes.
Anyways, to end this depressing ramble, the blinding light in my right eye says it's morning. So, good morning, folks!

Yusu, The Shortest Thing To Come Between Two Titans.

Ah, Yusu. Short, russet-haired, and a spitfire.
For anyone not familiar, this is one of five primary characters in the book I'm working on.
This is just a simple portrait of her, admittedly the only one I feel looks close enough to my mental image of her. She's wearing her preferred garb; a caftan and some saffron beads, as well as with her preferred, loose hairstyle. (She wears formal, fancy garments, usually, and also has her hair up most the time- none of which she likes. But alas, she lives with royalty, so she must.) In a nutshell, she's empathetic, prefers to be a neutral party in others' disputes, but often (and sternly) gets involved once she feels privacy or other things personal are crossed (namely, when Aya snoops on or insults his son). She's a bit nosy, but with good intents; she never means to harm. She's quite a spitfire, being that she regularly argues with members of royalty (which she is not) and doesn't apologize for it; even though she's quiet and accepting, she doesn't tolerate anything inappropriate or cruel. That all being said, she's very committed to helping others and is a loyal person, whether they appreciate it or not.

Emo-Philia

My little rendition of and tribute to Emo Philips, also known as my favorite comedian of all time. I beg you guys; cheque him out sometime at emophilips.com!

Ten Points to Pejic

The story behind this is: Andrej Pejic is a model I follow like a bloodhound and absolutely adore. He came to a store opening a while back and his hair was a fantastic explosion of curls; in an interview, he let on that while on the plane, he and his mum were watching Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Pt.1 and he flipped at seeing Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix)'s hair- thus- had his hair done like hers for opening.
So I had to do this after seeing all the pictures and interviews from that store opening. He's so sweet about everything it makes me melt.
That, and the fact that he watches Harry Potter fills me with geeky joy.

Sinful Liaisons (NSFW)

NSFW means "not safe for work", for anyone wondering. Not that I consider this illustration raunchy or inappropriate, but some might. (Oh no, a woman's partially bare breast!)
Anyways- these are two book characters of mine; stole this snapshot from a scene involving the two of them after "relations" (insert pincer gestures in mind, because I did do pincers). I thought it might make a nice picture illustrating their sneaky romance/affair.
I also like that Amaya is cuddled against Abhi instead of the stereotypical other way around. I just love the two of them so much. They're the most interesting (to me) couple in the book, most likely because they're the most... unconventional. (Some of you know what I mean. Elbow-elbow-shush)

Saburo and Kawawelah

Two book characters of mine (from left to right), Saburo and Kawawelah. I don't think I've ever drawn Saburo with his dressings down; as one can see, he's heavily scarred. And Kawawelah... I don't think I've ever drawn her outside of cutesy cartoon form. Anyways, Saburo is a retired military officer (not why he's scarred, mind you) and soon-to-be-retired swords teacher for the village most of the book takes place in. Kawawelah was (past tense because she passed in the beginning of the book) his long-time fiancée. And, for anyone familiar with Hayaku, Kawawelah is his mother; that being said, Saburo is pretty much accepted as Hayaku's stepfather.
Saburo's face is scarred because of a house fire from... eh, twelve years ago? Sounds about right.
And Kawawelah, well... she's skinny because she's frequently ill. An unfortunate, vulnerable type to sickness.
Saburo's actually pretty popular with friends, now that I mention it... there's just something about him that drives them crazy. Pretty successful, considering he's only a secondary character.

Emperor And Reigning Two-Face.

A simple headshot of my book's other Amaya (though he'd rather you call him Aya), and dichotomous Emperor.
To sum him up... he's Amaya's father, has two personalities as clear as night and day, and is a proponent of the scowl and grumble method for life's annoyances. Primarily Amaya.
I might note that he and Amaya absolutely loathe each other. Even so, that's a poor understatement.

Eternal Struggle.

This is just a drawing of, from right to left respectively, Aya and Amaya. They're kinda pushing each other, trying to gain the upper hand, Aya more desperately. It's a constant chess match between the two of them in the book.
The other thing I thought would be interesting about this drawing is to showcase how similar they actually are. With their features, habits (smoking), etc... they are, after all, father and son. They're pretty duplicate, actually... which is one reason I suspect they butt heads so often. That, and there are grudges against the other on both sides.
I focused mostly on their expressions. Was aiming for a sense of tension, grudge, and power struggle.
It's most likely not the final version; I might redo it, with shading and whatnot.

A Writer's Stress

This drawing is of myself (with the coffee cup and glasses in the middle) surrounded by all my characters' chaos. This is pretty much how I feel every time I sit down and write: like they all come rushing for me, squabbling and causing trouble and demanding that I pay them attention. For that, I call them my kids. Haha.
Pictured from left to right...
Baala, fuming over Yusu.
Yusu, arguing with Aya.
Sarikah, enduring baby kicks.
Aya, arguing with Yusu.
Me, overwhelmed by all my characters' chaos.
Fadil, scolding Saburo.
Saburo, ignoring Fadil.
Amaya, being drunk and a manwhore.
Hayaku, being paranoid.
Aditi, upset with Saburo.
Random Royal Guard, trying to escape Amaya's clutches.
Lochan, sighing from afar over Amaya.
Random maid, hiding from Amaya.

Night Vices

As much as I hate seeing him suffer, Amaya makes an interesting subject.
Look closely, and you may find all the wine bottles, two glasses, box of opium pills and the opium pipe in Amaya's bedroom. Oh, and that portrait in the back is one of Abhilasha.
It's like a sinister "I Spy" page.

Clover Tea's "Innana" and "Gopala"

Here, Innana is cornering farmer Gopala. This is from the short story, "Clover Tea".
You can read the short story if you head on over to the writing site I've got... www.wix.com/uliharp/ulysseslharp
...it's on an interactive book!

Clover Tea's "Innana"

This time, Innana has some tea. This is from the short story, "Clover Tea".
You can read the short story if you head on over to the writing site I've got... www.wix.com/uliharp/ulysseslharp
...it's on an interactive book!

Clover Tea's "Innana"

This is one of the illustrations to a short story I wrote a while back, titled "Clover Tea". The character (or plant, kinda) here is Innana, a forest spirit.
You can read the short story if you head on over to the writing site I've got... www.wix.com/uliharp/ulysseslharp
...it's on an interactive book! I love web page design.