The Stork, part 2

kept on going, 2hrs total...will maybe add in a background tomorrow.

June #1 - Wonder Woman

Somewhere towards the end of May, I started to fall into a giant chasm of a rut. Except it wasn't so much falling as clumsily tumbling down a slope of fail in slow motion, for whatever reason being unable to stop the descent as all creative attempts ended up a steaming pile of shame. I can only describe it as an underwater shit ballet that I was tired of and just trying to wait out.

In the end it took some wallowing, a couple of spicy margaritas and zoning out to lots of Southpark and Daredevil on Netflix for me to climb out my pool of fail. I don't really have much of a following, but seeing positive feedback really does help me escape the dark places of art doom. (always!)

So thank you again for your views and likes, they spur me on to get better and not worry about how long it might be taking me. Here is my much delayed first post of June, hooray for fanart.

May #6 - Forest Witch

A forest witch painted for the May Character Design Challenge, my first entry to the group. Practice for a full body pose.

May #5

Photoshop, 2 hrs.

May #4 - Castle Tower, Scotland

Almost exactly a year ago, we were in Scotland, Ireland and the UK for my cousin's wedding. Such beautiful lonesome landscapes, dotted with long abandoned structures. Some were barely more than a heap of pitted stones. (1hr, photoshop.)

May #3

Fabric patterns and hands, that is what's new for this week. Otherwise still just hunting for and establishing my comfort zone. 2.5 hrs.

May #2

In order to be sustainable, everything seems to require a rhythm and process. I haven't been wanting to worry about anatomy and composition while focusing on learning to paint in photoshop and layer on colors.  

Through all of the repetition and exploration, I'm hoping my own personal style will emerge as these get faster to do. My plan is to start pushing composition and my comfort zone with the figure once that happens. But I'd also like to take a break from people to see how the things I've learned impact the way I go about landscapes too.

May #1

So I finally got around to playing Shadow of Mordor, and have been having fun with it so far. I like the switching between the undead elf guy and Talion to use both archery and melee. Combat is engaging, and the seamless transitions between gameplay and cinematics are pretty cool. So I had started a cool pose of Talion complete with fur cape, silver buckles and distressed leather. Until my Mac just randomly shut off. And didn't keep my save files. URGH!!

Guhhhh so in the time I had left, some mileage fell out. Photoshop, 40 min.

April #7 - Electric Witch

Again inspired from our Shadowrun game. (Would be less loosely based off of it, but I need more practice painting body armor.) Textured brushes are great, I need to spend some time figuring them out so I can use them more. <3

Also, I can't believe that I got in 7 posts over the course of my first month at work! I'm super happy with the pace I'm learning and plan on continuing the habit.

Photoshop, about 4.5 hours over 3 sessions.

April #6

Clothing practice! Yes, I am mildly obsessed with cyberpunk fashion right now. Don't judge. I love black, and thick heavy fabrics with large folds are easier to paint in the limited time I have in the evenings. Really happy with the progress made today. Photoshop, 1.5hrs.

April #5

Playing with colors and outlines today, not much new to see. I miss having purple hair. Photoshop, 1hr.

Whoever first called practice "drawing mileage" must not have had to claw their way forward inch by freaking inch.

April #4

Sigh, sometimes the dump rounds dump pretty hard. I think I must have gotten too tired to see light. Maybe a good one will be just around the corner.

April #3

I think if I can get 5 posts done this month, I'll be happy. Was getting really bogged down in this one, so decided to stop noodling on it and just post and move on for now.

April #2

I started a new job on Monday, so have been taking time getting used to working full time again. I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic but am having a hard time containing my excitement. So far I love the product and have nothing but respect and admiration for the people I'm working with. (So incredibly blessed!)

Being in the games industry, my hours tend to run kind of late. Which always affects my eating times, which affects my sleep at night, which affects my performance the next day, etc. I need to figure out the best way to regulate it. 

Anyway, all this to say that April blogging will more than likely come up short. Here is a short exercise I did where I like how the white t-shirt came out. 

April #1 - Ehren the Adept

Ugh, stayed up late yesterday nerding out pretty hard core. I'm a newbie to RPG's but decided to join an old friend's Shadowrun mod this weekend. The world he created really caught my imagination, and I had a lot of fun creating my character and writing his backstory. So here he is, Ehren the Adept.

March Daily #6

I am having a rough time with clothing. I guess you have problems until you don't anymore, right?

Sounds stupid and simplistic, but that's what I tell myself when I feel like complaining about something that I know time and practice will smooth out. If there is anything that I've learned so far in 2015, it's to have faith in the process. With mileage, comes revelation. 1.5 hours.

March Daily #5

Couldn't find anything compelling around the house to set up for my still life today, so I switched gears back to people.

Previous to this I had been doing all of my human studies first in black and white first, then laying on color as overlays and paint overs. It usually takes a long time, and I find it a lot more difficult to push the color where I wanted it to be. This one was just straight into color, and I finally feel like I'm making progress again. Plus, it only took a little over an hour. (half as much time as the last one took me!)

I'm still trying to figure out the process that works best for me and trying not to worry about style. If anyone has tips, please share them and help me critique! (especially my badass concept artist friends!) 

March Daily #4

Painting of a glass mug of hot water and a Japanese strawberry Kitkat bar, which doesn't really taste like real strawberries or even the American candy approximation of strawberries. It's kind of funny how different countries interpret common candy flavors. I often have hot water with desserts or pastries, it's something I learned from my grandmother. Maybe it's a Taiwanese thing, to always be drinking just plain hot water?

It's really nice to get back to this, it helps me to decompress. I took a week long break to concentrate on freelance work and study my butt off for an interview, which I just had yesterday. Can't really complain though, I played through a lot of Farcry 4. What a gorgeous game!

WIP: Lavellan

I took a break from still lifes to do a couple of different portraits. I love characters, and skin tones have been something I've been trying to learn how to do better.

This crop is part of a larger work in progress of my Lavellan character from Dragon Age Inquisition. I don't like it quite yet, but figured I should post something since it's been a couple of days.

March Daily #3

No gin today, I had wine with dinner instead.  I need to figure out leaves. Rushed gridding out the perspective, and it shows. Oh well! 1.5 hours.