Working on It

I've been plugging along slowly since the last entry. Today my intention is to relax and finally do a little art for myself, and hopefully work on this commission, as it still needs colored.
I also need to look up the exact quote, because I have a feeling that's not totally accurate.

Last weekend was quite a fiasco with my art computer. I installed a Windows 7 upgrade to help the problem with my graphics card. While this worked, it meant hours of trying to make the Sims 2 install correctly and that I also tore my apartment apart looking for the installation discs for everything else. I found all that I need except the Photoshop disk, so I downloaded GIMP and have been trudging through learning to use it as Photoshop's replacement. It's not so bad once you adapt to its quirks and different "language" as it were.

That said, I've been working on my book cover in GIMP and also goofing around with Illustrator as well. Andreas is slowly coming together, but I'm finally looking at it with enough distance to realize that his head is far too small. Thankfully that won't take too long to fix.

The painting for my Painting I class is as finished as it will be, but I currently lack a photo. Perhaps after doing some relaxing art today I'll snap a quick one of it.

Getting Classy

Sorry, it's just a play on the fact that I've started actually doing art for my classes, not that my art is suddenly more high-end.

As I expected, oil paint (yes, water-soluble since Kessie asked) is going to take some getting used to. Last class I was trying to use it like extra-thick watercolors, which of course it isn't. For today's studio I'm going to try laying the pigment on more thickly.
Also, for my digital tools class, my professor has approve my chosen project of creating a cover for the novel I wrote for National Novel Writer's Month back in 2009 (I'll be going back to it this November to write the second draft). I'll be drawing the individual images for characters in Photoshop Elements 5, then using Adobe Illustrator CS5 (which I bought at student discount) to put them together and add the desired effects and text. Here's the front-most image of the main character (so far):
For non-curricular art, I finished my friend's commission. Please excuse the poor quality; I'm at school and don't have my scanner in my backpack, so my camera had to do:
After finishing the other commission on my plate, I'm going to stop taking them for a while. Full-time class, working 25 hours a week plus homework means that any free-time drawing I do will be for myself.

Also, my model car is completed, I just happened to not have the photo I took of it on the camera card that's with me. Next entry, though!

Mini Memory Lane Joy Ride

The weekend before this last one I was a guest at my brother's house while things were worked out for me to replace my new car. I ended up with a white 2000 Dodge Durango, thanks to his enthusiastic assistance, and I must say I enjoy driving it. I won't enjoy putting gas in it, but that's a complaint for another time.

My brother is busiest at his job during the summer (such is the life of kitchen staff at a country club), so while he was out I spent hours and hours reliving my childhood by playing the first Crash Bandicoot game on his PS3. I'd forgotten how simply beautiful and fun that game is, and it was influential enough to help me break my art block.

It's just a quick thing - probably took an hour tops and I didn't use a reference. But my word, it was relaxing and great fun. The next morning I also did this five-minute sketch to ensure that the breaking of artists' block wasn't a one-time deal:
Just a fast scribble as my character Kat as one of the game series' default female badicoots. The lack of a certain long, fluffy appendage is not going well with her. She probably hasn't noticed that her fur is orange yet.

Week 25: Outside the Skull

I think the highlights on "Black" need to be fixed, but other than that we're good. Top-notch? Not at all, but they're out of my brain and maybe they'll leave me in peace to get other things done.

Also, as of tomorrow I will be fully moved into my new apartment! Photos, however, won't be shown until it's more set up. For the most part wall-hangings are up and furniture is where it needs to go, but there's still clutter. Maybe after my internet is hooked up tomorrow.

Week 25: Fullfilling

Here's a good jump forward in progress. This is one of those that, as long as I work on it when I feel like it and don't force myself, things go simple and smoothly. Interestingly, they both have the same skin color, it just looks different when it's beside black as opposed to white.

Also, they're not enemies. They're on the same side of... whatever it is. I don't even know.

Week 25: Change of Plans

Okay, so the re-doing an old drawing? That wasn't really working out. Quite often the artistic muses of my mentality will lay waste to the plans I'd made and insist on their own ideas until I comply just to shut them up. Such is the case this week.

These two guys here showed up at random in an anime-based dream I had (and I swear I hadn't been watching anything over the past few days). The dream was anime-styled, so that's how I'm representing them. The one in white has white hair and eyes (don't ask me how that works), and the other has black hair and eyes.

Week 24: ...In Space!

When I sat down and opened Photoshop yesterday I wasn't expecting to finish this all at once. But who am I to deny a good artistic roll? There's some errors still, but over-all it was a good relaxing means to get back into the whole Weekly Art thing. I'm thinking of taking out the line along the back of Corvus' tail, though. It looks rather bulky.

Background noise: Finally signed up at Pandora

Week 24: Uniformity

Hopefully the androgyny is more evident now that Corvus is clothed. Also, my cousin and I have decided to use "en" as a gender-neutral pronoun for this character and the rest of the species that share the hermaphrodite trait.

Actually, being born as one set gender is pity-worthy for Corvus' people. Also, this species normally resides in a complex system of underground cities on their planet. The surface world is 75% barren wasteland, so can you blame them?

week 24: Alien Behavior

While on vacation this last week, I birthed another new original character for the sake of a role play story with my cousin "A" and I. It's a sci-fi setting, and her character is a male-type android and mine is the alien being sketched out here.

I wanted a female character, but a rather manly female, and for the sake of having a good reason, Corvus (the character) is of a species that is born hermaphrodites about 80% of the time. Corvus is one of those majority, though the hermaphrodites of the species can decide to emphasize one gender trait over another at any time. I think right now Corvus is about neutral.

While Corvus has a tail, her/his ears are rounded, because pretty much every other alien character you ever see has pointed ears. Doing four fingers instead of five was accidental, but I think I'll keep that trait. It'll make drawing hands more difficult later.

Week 21: Natural

Yesterday was a bit chilly and over-cast (entirely possible in Idaho in May), so rather than sketch on my walk I used my neighbor's back yard as inspiration. Birds are not something I'm particularly skilled at, but I don't really like them either so I'm not compelled to learn to draw them better. The squirrel is rough because, of course, they don't stay in one place for too long.
Also more rough sketching in Photoshop. This time based on an RP-setting with a friend and I. I've shown drawings from this setting before. I've been noticing that with the recent amount of sketching I do, I loosen up a lot more with my tablet than I used to. I'm also not sweating details too much - just making sure I have fun.

Today's weather is much more promising for my walk, which is wonderful since I start work tomorrow and will only be going for walks on weekends after that. Also, I'll be starting another commission today, and it looks like it'll be a fun one.

Week 21: Loosened Up

A walk wasn't on yesterday's schedule, but going to church was. This was a great opportunity for sketching some faces, but the minister is quite a... kinetic speaker. Yes, I was paying attention, before that concern rises. I always am.

I didn't work a whole lot with the clay yesterday. I think I'll be taking a short break from clay for a bit after this. Inspiration could strike at random however, so we'll see. Photos of it will be up with tomorrow's entry.

Also, Photoshop is back from the dead! Yay! Having to use Open Canvas on Saturday made me appreciate it so much more. A couple of Hetalia sketches to celebrate (though the bottom one doesn't have to be fan art. Could be anything)


Also, for the few of you coming here not through my Facebook or my Twitter, I start my summer job on Thursday! It will be full-time, so less time for art, but I'll manage. I also have an idea of what I want to do next week, but I'll save that for tomorrow's entry when I post artwork from today... it works, trust me.

Week 20: Seeing Starz + Role Call

Okay, so touching it up and signing it only took five minutes instead of thirty. Could it be pushed farther? No doubt. Will it be? Nope. It was an effective learning experience, which was largely the purpose from the beginning.

She is pretty dang cute.

Also, the sketches I did while out down town today. I'm horribly rusty with gesture drawing, and it shows:
ROLE CALL: So, really curious, who out there reads this thing? Not that I'll stop if I have a tiny readership - I have every intention of seeing this blog through to the end of the year and beyond. And for those who do read it, what would you like to see me do differently that would make this whole thing more interesting? Without readers the blog sort of doesn't have as much of a point as I would like, so feedback from you guys would be wonderful. :)

Week 20: Hairy Situation

Finally back to working on this today, and recalling that "oh yeah, fur's kind of a pain...". She does need more orange and I'll be adding black flecks in to blend it better. Surprisingly, her face is the easiest part right now. I expected it to be the most difficult.

The background color will be changed, but right now it's not a priority. Also yes, her eyes will be adjusted. i just didn't want a creepy-looking pupil-less cat.

Background noise: Youtube playlist, mostly Hunchback of Notre Dame music.

Week 20: Meow

This weekend my mother is having a moving sale and I'm at her house to assist. Somehow I ended up being up and around at an hour where I normally just roll over and go back to sleep for two more. This was long before the sale even started, so caffeinated and on a temporary sugar rush, I decided I might as well start Week 20 while Mom tried to keep from going nuts.

It's another challenge week, and therefore another shot at digital painting. This week's subject should be recognizable from my blog's avatar. I can't recall ever really drawing Starz besides as some horribly represented anime-styled cat, so this should be interesting to say the least. Liberties are also being taken to make her look less annoyed in the painting than the reference photo.

Background noise: Mom running around like a headless chicken

Week 16: Works For Me

I was on a roll yesterday and so decided to finish the entire thing at once. I may edit it later this week, but here you.

Week 15 and a Remnant

So this week it's back to fan art, and really simple fan art at that. In fact, it may be finished in one or two days and that's honestly just fine. It's Hetalia art again, Matthew, in fact. In the series he's the personification of Canada, but in this case he's for an RP that I'm in and he's human. Believe it or not, I prefer the characters as human because the "Nation Personification" concept is rather odd to me.

Also, Bit's face has been fixed a little with a few suggestions from a friend. It looks better.

Background noise: Strange Brew (what? It's a rental that I have to return tomorrow), Switchfoot's "Beautiful Letdown" album.

Week 15: As Good As It'll Get

Much to my relief, I was only up until 11 pm working on this rather than midnight or 1 am. There's still some bothersome things about her face, but with a complex drawing like this, there's just going to be factors I don't like no matter how long I work on it.

I'm rather worn out, so don't expect the Mona Lisa from me this week.

Background Noise: Strange Brew and Rescuers Down Under

Week 15: Progress 06 - Almost There

Okay, so it's not finished quite yet, but darn it, it's close. I also keep forgetting about the cigarette in her hand so I should probably do that next. The background's going to be rather generic, I can say that already. Spent too much time on her for it to be overly detailed.

It will be finished tonight, and I'm not planning to go back to her face unless someone points something out.

Background noise: Strange Brew

Week 15: Progress 05 - Face Value

Finally to the part I wanted to work on most. The lips took forever and then I realized that the eyes didn't line up with them right. So they're both being adjusted; haven't made it to the far one yet.

Background noise: Playlist, general

Week 15: Progress 04 - Shuffle Forward

My computer was being... itself today. Photoshop was running incredibly slow and I didn't have the motivation to deal with it for too long, so Bit's arms and some of her shirt were all I worked on. Also, for the sake of space and to keep my main page from looking too redundant, we're just going with a close-up of an area I'm having trouble with.