Tribute Series!

I've been doing a tribute series to some of my favorite artists: loish and janaschi from Deviant art. (I will be working on a Charlie Bowater tribute shortly.)

I'm Having a London Tipton Moment: Yay Me!

I've made a couple of paintings for a contest on Deviantart.com. The contest is a community wide collaboration to tell a story. You have three days to write a 300 word chapter for this story or paint an illustration.

I was lucky enough to get my painting selected for Chapter 1: The Light Train Waits for No One.

This is a very sloppy speed paint with scary-weird bushes that lead to a glowing train. Um... strange, yeah. But I won and that's all I care about! LOL!

I can't believe I actually won something! I feel like this right now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F_G2zp-opg

In other news, I just finished this piece that I've been piddling on for a couple months:

What to say about this...? It took forever. It's not as "finished' as it should be. Annnnnd I don't really care. I think all my paintings end when I stop caring.

I have a short care cycle. lol

And since I'm so happy, here's another sketch:

Fierce

Two steps forward, one step backward.

I feel like this is a big step forward for me because of how much ad libbing I did. I actually put some effort into a background. lol And I painted a guy which is something I struggle with. 

Of course, I didn't say that I painted the guy well... And the hands are a wreck, but the painting overall-- a satisfactory performance. 

The painting is titled "Fierce" because of the guy's expression. It's kind of an opposites painting. The guy is the darker force who is entranced by this angelic girl and he won't let anyone or thing harm her. He looks kind of possessive-- like she's the first thing he's ever loved. And she's naive-- unaware of the danger.


Reference used from deviantart.com


This was my original sketch:

Here's the finished product:

Disappointment...

Some of you may remember this piece:

I painted it for a contest on DeviantART. I was really hopeful to at least place in the contest. I doubted I'd win, but I thought I would at least get in the voting round.

The contest holder picked her top 24 today and has opened voting on those pieces.

I didn't even make it into the top 24. I guess I wouldn't feel so bad, but I felt like my piece was at least decent and not to sound vain, but the entries that my pic was left with looked more like they'd been painted by sixth graders. I mean, I seriously think they were sixth graders.

Sigh.

This is so disappointing.

So... I'm reevaluating my art. I think I'm too left brained. Technique and anatomy have been my focus for so long that I've starved my artistic intuition. I need to be more artsy, vibrant, and colorful.

Before I got all depressed about the contest, I painted this:

The proportions are not realistic, but I purposely did that. I wanted something a little more cartoony. I really liked it as I was painting it, but in hindsight, I see that she looks kind of like a meth addict. *Headdesk*

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

This is a desktop (feel free to use). The girl is anxiously awaiting her sweetheart so that she can give him a special present.

I know this is a little different from my usual style, but when I sketch, they naturally turn cartoony. I prefer a combination of cartoony and realistic, but this is okay for a desktop. And it was a lot of fun to paint. I did it all in one evening. Usually it takes me a few days and references! 

It was so fun! I'm contemplating doing another one... Mwah ha ha!

Kiss WIP

So excited to show my next project:

I wanted to show a guy and fall faerie who were in love. Right now the painting is very visually cold, but I'm planning to add lots of deep oranges and reds. :)

Done! Well, sort of...

As usual, I got tired of working on this piece. And, like many artists, I got excited about my next project. lol So, I may come back and "tidy" this piece up later, but right now I'm going to work on my next project-- a fall faerie!

Almost done!

Paint faster! Paint faster! You have to work tomorrow!

I changed the background color and the composition a bit. i just kept looking at it and thinking that it looked "wrong". I like this background color better. And I added another texture for the background. I've got some fine-tuning to do, then I'll be done.

So... why does it look like this is a Coke advertisement? Anyone else thinking that???

Pretty Woman

Here be yet another WIP. 

I started this one for a contest on Deviantart. All you have to do is paint a girl and flowers. Sounds simple enough!

Reference used from http://mihaela-vstock.deviantart.com/art/roses-263190588

Moonlight...

...is the title of my latest sketch.

Yeah, I know I can't seem to finish anything. Right-brained much???

I'm My Own Worst Enemy

I was working on my latest painting-- we'll call it Secret Serenade. And, well, I got to studying it...

The story of it is supposed to be that the girl in the window has been really sick. So, the guy came over with his guitar to serenade her until she got well. Even if she's too sick to see him, he'll sit there strumming just to show her that he's there for her.

Sounds good, right?

Yeah, well, it looks more like the girl in the window is a creepy ghost that wants to eat him. Ugh. This must be fixed. I'm not ready to give up on this, but it's going to have to wait. I'm too discouraged to work on it right now.

Soooo... I started this painting:

I'm obviously a fan of romantic paintings. lol And I decided that I need to be painting more guys. But I like paintings that tell stories, too. The story behind this one: The girl is relishing being held by her love, while the guy is staring forward with a fiercely protective expression.

Right now the painting is pretty much in black and white. I did that so I could see how my lighting was going. If it's in B&W, you can better tell how your painting is lit. I did start putting the pink on the girl. I want her too look innocent and sweet. I want the guy to be a darker force-- maybe a troubled guy who met the right girl and is trying to turn his life around. As I type this out, I realize how corny it is. But I love it anyway!!!

New Work in Progress...

Say hello to my latest baby:

With each painting, I've tried to get away from heavy referencing. Don't get me wrong, references are awesome, and you're no less of an artist by using them. But when I first started painting digitally, I would... uh... *cough* color pick.

Color picking, for those who don't know, is choosing the exact colors from the reference photo with the eyedropper tool. The pro of doing that is that you get a beautifully colored image that looks very realistic. The con is that if you always do this, you will probably stunt your growth as a painter.

I started color picking so I could get the hang of digital painting without worrying about colors just yet. Now I'm pushing myself to learn more about color by layering colors and studying references. I don't know if that made a whole lot of sense, I'm pretty tired. lol

Good night!

Argh...

I think it's done. I say that mainly because I think I'm tired of working on it. I'm afraid there are some definite anatomy problems going on, but for me to fix them... Well, that's like asking a third grader to repair a car.

Definitely not ready for that.

It's time to move on to a new painting! Yay!

I think I can... I think I can...

I have gotten to the part of this painting where I turn on a TV series on Netflix and diligently paint tedious little leaves. (Felicity, in case you're curious.) In fact, I am so fried from painting these green little tormentors that I keep misspelling words. My wit has left me entirely.

And I've only gotten the left side done! Well, partially done... Well... I don't know. Gosh, let's not think about that right now.

SLEEP!

Painting Frenzy

I had to try out the new tablet. After shelling out so much money for a Wacom Intuos, I had to know if it was worth it.

It so was.

I've been working on this with my tablet. It has made painting so much easier. The amount of detail and smoothness I can achieve has increased tenfold!

So, I kept looking at this painting as a thumbnail and thinking that it looked funny. I think it was the overgrown mass of bushes that I thought was adding mystery and intrigue-- they were clogging up my painting. So, I yanked them out, but now all I have is sloppy background. That's going to have to be redone. HEADDESK.

I slapped some funky sleeves, wavy hair, and a headband-crown-thingy on her. We'll see what I do with them later. Just trying out a different look.

Wacom Intuos FTW!!!

New Tablet!

Wacom Intuos-- oh my gosh! I just became a better artist!

The image on the left was done with my old tablet. The image on the right was done with my new tablet, Wacom Intuos. I can get so much more detail now!

Darn You, Wacom!

My Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet has finally died-- death by loose cord connection. It's no longer covered by warranty. So, I'm going to shell out the cash to get a Wacom Intuos which I've been wanting forever. You'd think I'd be really excited--and I am, but my excitement is overshadowed by the price which has burnt images into my eyeballs. 

So, my painting is going to be on hold until I get my new tablet because I really cannot paint anything decent with a mouse. How other people do it is astonishing to me. Anyway, I hope to be back in action by the end of next week!

Progress is Being Made!

Now I feel like I'm getting somewhere with this piece! I was dreading the dress, but I started painting and this is what came out. I was a bit stumped at the hair. I paint so much long straight hair-- gee, I wonder why? Ha ha! I'm not very creative with my own hair... But I thought figured since she's probably a princess, I'd give her long, wavy locks. We'll see how long those stay.

I think her face makes her look too old. I guess it's too angular. There's a fine line between youthful roundness and marshmallow face. I obviously was trying to avoid the latter.

I'm alive!

Sorry for the lack of posts. I've been working a lot lately-- 12 hour shifts to be exact. They pretty much suck up all my free time. Oh, and I must confess that I've neglected my poor blog to read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. They were awesome by the way-- read them! If I would rather read something than paint, then it must be awesome.

BUT I will paint tonight! I vow this thing to be true! Until then, may this tide you over:

I call this "When Good Sketches Go Bad." It was supposed to be fan art for the book Wings by Aprilynne Pike. I guess I'll finish it eventually...

Photoshop CS5 and Wacom Bamboo Tablet

Goodnight!

Here's my progress. Not sure where I'm going with this. I've just been experimenting with composition and color. Goodnight!

Short Attention Span...

I was going to finish yesterday's painting, but... I got another idea, and since it's new and shiny (wink wink), I decided to pursue it instead.

Why, yes, I am attempting to paint an actual background! I know it appears to be my usual blurry nothingness, but upon closer inspection, I believe you will notice actual sky and foliage! Oh yeah! The only way I can keep myself from jumping ahead to painting my person is to remind myself that a real background will make my character look extra special. ;)

Sleeping-- Work in Progress

Thought I'd start a new painting. Will post the reference picture when painting is complete. I'm supposed to be in bed right now, so I'm hurrying.

Death of an Idea...

I had what I thought was a great idea for a romantic painting:

It was when I realized I don't know how to paint fire that this painting died a horrible death. Maybe I will try again some day. and the weird colors in the upper left corner are my skin tones.

I totally got inspired by this piece: http://owhl.deviantart.com/art/Night-Light-216223850 I loved it so much, I wanted to make one like it. Unfortunately, this was the result: 

Uh... wow. So bad. So very, very bad.

This next piece was requested. I'm not totally in love with it, but for as much as I struggled with it, it came out okay. And I didn't "rock" the background, but it's an improvement over what I usually do-- which is blurry nothingness.

What is this??? Oh... this was me trying to be funky. I think I will cry myself to sleep now.

And just to prove that I CAN paint something decent once in a while, here is a portrait of my friend, Jamie. This is the original: 

This is the altered version after receiving some critiques on the old one:

Welcome!

I'm not the bravest person in the world, BUT I've decided to share my art through this blog. ALL of it. And when I say "art", I am using that term very loosely. ;) 

Through Facebook, I share my best works with my friends and family while the... uh... lesser works hide in shame. Occasionally I pull them out and try to better them, but most of the time I look at them and shudder... "What was I thinking????"

Here's the brave part: Those works are coming out of hiding. That's right. Everything I sketch, you get to see. From now on I'm posting all of my artistic musings. The Good. The Bad. The Ugly.

Why? Why would I want to share my most hideous, unfinished pieces of nasty-McNastiness? My most craptastic works? Because I want to better myself, and I want to inspire other artists. Kind of sounds wonky, right? 

But when I see a great artist's older, amateur pieces, it gives me hope for myself. And maybe this blog will give hope to others...

Or maybe it will just make someone realize that even on their worst day their art is far better than mine. lol Either way, let's do this!

(By the way, this isn't mine. Just had to say that. Shew!)