Monster #15

That shade of nail polish really matches your eyes, Monster 15. You're awfully smug for a little guy hiding under a green blanket from an electrical socket.

Your moogle ball is still showing, by the way.

Random Sketch: the Pug Walker

I live near a particularly nice dog park in the city. Lots of people are always out there with their 4-legged children. On one particularly sunny day, my boyfriend and I were sitting out on the grass watching them play. I complimented a couple on their particularly cute puppy.

"Oh thank you!" said the lady. "We love our little fluffy boy. Which one is yours?"

"Oh none of them yet," I replied. "But we're expecting."

Monday Night Figure Drawing Workshop

There were a lot less people this week because of the BART strike tonight. We had a neat old guy with neat poses and good lean muscle tone come and model for us. He did mostly 2's and 3's. Here is a sampling from the middle of the evening.

Character Design Homework #3

Part of the homework for class #3 was to try and design characters based off of the Jekyll and Hyde silhouette studies that we did 2 weeks ago. My Hyde one didn't come out like I was hoping, but my Jekyll, or "Canadian Wilderness explorer Jack Hall" ended up in an okay place. Here he is.

Character Design Homework #2

This week's homework was to do another version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as a silhouette study. My version was of Mr. Jeck Hull, an intrepid Canadian explorer in the 1940's going through the mountains in search of a creature terrorizing some local livestock near a native burial ground. But there is something wrong with the land, and he finds himself turning into a confused, threatening beast only known as "The Hide."

This was my first time doing these, and it was really difficult. Honestly I don't think I did a very good job of defining and pushing my shapes, and if I had time, I'd do another page of both characters. Still, it was fun to do, and I resolve to do more of these on my own time, especially when preparing for longer term projects.

 

Character Design Homework #1

This is my first homework for Stephen Silver's character design class. We were given a character profile of Londoner Walter Chipwitter, an enthusiastically jolly, heavyset, wealthy entrepreneur in his 60's wearing a bow tie, smoking jacket and a monocle.

Homework #1 was to gauge our technical abilities so he could give us better feedback in the upcoming weeks. I wish I could have spent more time on good ol' Walter, but The Bear and I were heading out to Seattle to celebrate our anniversary, so no weekend time for this one. Kind of rushed.

His feedback? That I needed to draw through my shapes and focus on better anatomy and construction. Yup yup. Too many parallel lines. And it would have helped to draw the gesture of the pipe first, then figure out how his hands were going to wrap around it rather than the other way around.

Monster #14

Bear-Rat has heard of trying to find a needle in a haystack, but nailclippers? At least his friend Apple-Bird is trying to cheer him up with a song.

Akuma WIP

Just more digital painting practice, yay something besides daily sketch monsters! Although I guess he is a monster demon type thing too... 2 hours in so far, using Capcom 3rd strike pics for reference. (by far the best one in the series, IMO)

Monster #13

Yes, she is a natural redhead! I guess you could also call it strawberry blonde.

Monster #12

I'm falling behind on posting monsters, mainly because I get too lazy to boot up my computer in the evenings after work. The blogger interface on mobile devices doesn't play nice with uploading images. Something to do with wanting iphones to use Google+ to upload images and not recognizing images or the actual app after installation, blah blah blah. I wish Apple and Google wouldn't hate each other so much.

On a completely different note, I'm going to be taking Character Design with Stephen Silver this fall starting next week. The monsters will probably trickle in more slowly and be often replaced by homework from that class instead. Several of my friends have already taken this course and recommended it highly, so I'm excited!

Night in Caye Caulker

I've been working for a while on a digital painting for an art book that my friend has been putting together. It features the coordinated efforts of a group of us that all work here on the same project. I feel honored to be in the company of such talented people on a daily basis and do my best to learn from them. :)

The book will go to print in the next week or two and will be available at the Alternative Press Expo (APE) being held October 12th and 13th this year in San Francisco. If all goes well, I will also be bringing some Kokedama with me and helping out with the booth. Here is the painting, inspired by my trip to Belize earlier this summer.

Monster #11

I've only been stung by a wasp twice in my life. Both happened this year. The first time was when I put my foot in my old comfy pair of Toms to walk out for a snack right after getting back from our Belize vacation. Little did I know the little f*cker was hanging out in my shoe!

The second time was when we drove out to the Animal Ark out near Reno. While one of the Jaguar feeders was talking to me, one crawled up my shirt and stung me next to my belly button. She kept right on talking through my look of horror and subsequent frantic arm flailing/foot stomping.

Monster #10

Whistles while he works, which would drive his coworkers up the wall if they had any. Oh well, whatever it takes to get by on a Tuesday.

Monster #9

My friend and coworker went fishing this weekend and caught an extra bass that he is bringing to work for me. I am excited for a fresh fish dinner tomorrow. :)

Monster #8

Might just be a smug looking cat with swirly chest fur and a flaming tail.

Monster #7

This grounded and heavy species feeds on fruit high up in the trees. A height and keen sense of smell allow them to seek out ripe morsels beyond the reach of other creatures. Their characteristically fearsome, sharp fangs are in actuality hollow and remarkably unbreakable, which allows them to pierce through thick rinds to suck the juices out of their favorite fruits.

Despite the comical look of their splendid whiskers and useless, showy plumage, these creatures are devoted, fearless parents and have been known to stand watch over any egg from their flock with unwavering determination.

Monster #6

Monster #6 listens to Rihanna while waiting to train home from work. She's lucky to live near good public transportation.

Monster #5

This guy enjoys slithering around, eating fish and listening to classical music. Being drunk makes him a bit timid. He worries too much about deadlines.

Monster #4

A quick little guy before bed. He's mostly chicken feet and Elmo fur.

Settling in with the new Cintiq 13HD

It's here!!! Today marks the first day that I've been able to get my new Cintiq 13HD up and running. It came earlier this week, but I didn't realize a mini-display to HDMI converter would be needed to get it functional on my macbook.

I just spent 2 hours getting everything all hooked up and installed. So folks, this is what it looks like to spend your hard earned savings on some pretty swank new equipment, only to balance it on the tv tray that passes for a desk in the livingroom/diningroom/office space that my boyfriend and I share in our overpriced tiny apartment in SF. Behold!

The cintiq itself is thin, beautiful and only about 2.5lbs, so it seems wondrously portable. But after including the separate power and cables, my macbook, and the USB keyboard hooked up to give it at least some semblance of being ergonomic? Not so much. My setup is super janky - but it is also surprisingly comfortable.

Monster #3

Jeez, I've been so busy all summer with weddings, trips and crunchiness at work. But it's August now, a brand new month. Let's do this!

This guy was inspired by a couple of weird looking African spurred tortoises we saw at the Austin Zoo over the weekend. They can grow up to 200 lbs and are embarrassingly messy eaters.

Coming soon: more post-it note monsters, plus I'm hoping to finish a couple of pieces that have been laying around half done.

Monster #2

Have a monster as I attempt to destress after work. Day 2, so far so good...

A Monster a Day: Monster #1

Happy summer! I've been enjoying my summer break a lot. And by enjoy, I mean working 10 hour days, going on trips to random places (this weekend was a geothermic park, Reno and a bear feeding for the July 4th weekend), catching up on my stack of videogames and in general doing anything but drawing.

So, to counteract my creative lethargy, I've decided to do daily pen and ink warmups on my little EA post-it notes. The point is to just let my mind and hand wander without worrying about what comes out. The theme I've chosen is a monster a day. Yay! Here is monster #1.

May 16th Sustained Figurative Concepts FInal Project

My last piece for the Sustained Figurative concept class was a picture of my boyfriend that I had taken wearing my favorite scarf and holding my cat in his PJ's. Done in Nupastel, 5 or 6 hours.

The posting is a month late because I left the last class of the spring semester early to rush home to Texas for a wedding, then rushed off to vacation in Belize the week after for 10 days. I've been back and thrust back into the crazy fast SFBay Area lifestyle and crunch time at work for almost a week now. Deadlines deadlines...

April 18th - May 9th - Clothed Figure

Hello, I'm lagging a bit behind on the posting...these are my first attempts at clothed figure drawing in class over the last couple of weeks. Definitely a two steps forward, one step back thing.

It's been an experience, learning how to draw and render and use the medium, all at the same time. I've been quickly learning not to compare myself to others in the class; many did fine arts or illustration for their undergraduate. As they say, "comparison is the thief of joy." It is neat, seeing what some of the really talented folks produce, and getting to ask them about the way they approach our weekly assignments. I am better now at just enjoying the rhythm of the process now, and being less critical of myself. I might not be proud of these, but I am proud of my efforts and tenacity. I'll just keep on practicing until I understand drapery and clothing. Although it's not required, Clothed Figure drawing will mostly likely be my next class.

My First Bonsai-style Kokedama

I love plants and sculpture and have been planning and researching this project for a little while. This is my first bonsai-style kokedama: a mini-tree rooted in a ball of living moss. It's been doing surprisingly well at my work desk, considering that the air is quite dry and there is no sunlight! The leaf imprint dish was made by a co-worker's late wife and fits it quite nicely.

I'll be making more and more of these over the next couple weeks after work crunch is over and my final is finished. Thanks for looking!

March 28th - April 17th

I've been falling behind in posting my studies, so here is a catch-up post. 2 done in class, and 2 homeworks. All nupastel, and in chronological order. 

I'm growing in the understanding of how to better block in shapes and to step away from the easel when working on a large scale (these are all 19x25's) so that the features are less derpy. Also I'm finally getting down both the technique in the medium and blocking out large shapes since that is what the teacher firmly wants us to focus on. Plane change, edge control, form value. Drill drill drill, I wish I could be doing this every day. Progress might be a bit slow, but at least I feel encouraged by the fact that it is coming at a steady pace. 

I really want to understand texture, rhythm and color, because I'm understanding that is where I will eventually find an individual voice. These will be my next goals in addition to growing my fledgeling foundation in technique. 

Thanks again, to those who are following my beginning journey in the fine arts! To my surprise, this blog just came up on 1200 views around my birthday this month. I enjoy seeing visitors and knowing that much of it comes from other people who are fighting to learn and find the time to do what they love, just like me. Peace. :)

March 21st - Classwork

Posting a little late, last Thursday was my first ever lesson in portraiture/head drawing. Back to charcoal... definitely not my strong suit. Also, I am terrible at drawing people's likenesses, probably because I'm moderately faceblind. As always, any progress is good progress, I keep on telling myself. Bleh. Post, post post... 2 hours, done in the same Sustained Figurative Concepts class. Zin stepped in at the end and fixed the hair and the corner of the mouth a bit.

I got slammed on the last full figure nupaste I did...man everyone in the class is getting so good! I need to pay more attention to plane detail. Realism is really really tough. What is the best way to train your own eyes and brain to "see"? I plan on fixing her up for our end of year review to see if I can raise my grade a bit.

March 10 - Homework pt.1

I'm really enjoying pastels and want to be doing more on my own, if only I could find the time.

Blurry WIP homework done using one of the photos that the instructor provided us for this assignment. I'll be bringing it to class this Thursday and getting feedback to fix it up for next week's grade. I really miss the cool yellow color I had been using before and will probably bring it back by next week, regardless of what colors we're supposed to use. Zin doesn't seem to mind. 2hr, Nupastel.

March 07th class

More nupastel. From last time Zin wanted me to be more careful of my shadow shapes, accentuate plane changes more sharply, and have more contrast in the figure. Also, he suggested that I try just working just in one shade to concentrate purely on value, so I took out the yellow that I've been enjoying so much. eh. 4hr pose, done during studio class.

Feb 21 & 28th - First Brush with NuPastel

The 3rd week of class on Feb 21st Zin had us break out the nupastels and toned paper for the first time. We attempted a ~2hr figure study. If I thought I was discouraged last week...well, at least I was prepared. New paper, new medium, new struggles on so many fronts. I was *really* disappointed with the results.

This was not going to do. I resolved to do more gesture exercises at home and noodled around with the nupastels some more. It was getting a little bit better, but it still wasn't quite clicking, so I asked around work for a little bit of help. My friend Albert showed me some of his stuff when he was at the academy, and pointed me toward a tutorial from William Maughan. My 2nd study was much better, a 2.5hr study done during Tuesday night workshop for homework.

By the time class rolled around on the 28th I was gaining confidence and am now feeling much better about nupastels. Here is my 3rd attempt at nupastels, a 3hr study done during class.

From despair to progress, so visible in just 3 attempts. It's quite strange how the brain learns. Must keep at it, and not give up. My motto for 2013, and what keeps on repeating in my head: Any progress is good progress. Cheers.

Tuesday Long Pose Workshop

Today I went by Jun's Tuesday night long pose workshop. Maybe it was the fact that I had been crazy busy with working all day, or gotten worked up by missed phone calls. Not excuses, just musings. But I did *horribly.* Was it that I didn't do any warm ups? I certainly didn't take enough time blocking out my figure. I did so bad, that I'm not going to post my drawing. What if I fail out of the class? Could I just be not cut out for this? What am I doing, spending money and time in art school, anyways? I'm an adult with a steady job!

I'm sharing my self doubt and anxiety here with anonymous others and my future self as a promise to myself to keep on going and work hard, even if I am feeling foolish and discouraged. One day I'd like to look back on this post and be proud that I had faith and kept on moving forward, even through the setbacks and bad days/weeks. Peace.

Charcoal Practice

Been so productive tonight for my lady night in. I've been struggling with charcoal a lot during my semester at AAU. Since I work full time and can't make most of the workshops, I figure I should try to understand it on my own time.

~45min 3x6'' combination of vine and charcoal pencil, using a Henry Yan pic as reference.

Intestinal Fortitude Recovery Week

I was super sick with some sort of violent stomach flu this week. :( So I missed about 3 and a half days of work, most of my 2nd day of class, and Valentine's Day, boo! Luckily, I'm back on the upswing for the weekend, although still trying to take it easy and gain back my intestinal fortitude. So here are some substitute sketches for what I normally would post for my new figurative concepts class.

I doodled a bunch of ladies here, just to be doing something while I'm waiting for dinner to cook or the energy to recharge on my stupid free-to-play game, haha. I feel like it's good for learning proportion consistency, and lets me crank out quick cute outfit ideas.

Also as kind of a daily vitamin, I'm trying to work in a couple of pages of gesture drawings every week. I've gotten really rusty over the long break that the Academy has, and I want to regain the momentum that I had fought so hard for last semester. I have a feeling that this semester is going to be tough for me, unless I work hard to study up on my own time. These are 1's.

wip - coffee slump

i've been starting several different things, but then not finishing...here's the wip for the previous sketch.

4pm at work on a Tuesday

I've been trying to cut down on the amount of coffee I drink everyday. Sometimes this is the result.

Reaper's gotta reap...

Why you gotta reap? Sorry, we took back earth. <3

 

A bit of fanart started last May back when Mass Effect 3 came out and Mike had long hair. I forgot about it until this month and decided to finish up the color.