Working Girls need breaks too

Mood is.......: headachy
Listening to..: "Dirty Deed Done Dirt Cheap" (AC/DC)

Well I've figured out a way around my music problem for the time being. I finally remembered that I have an iPod. Dur. So it's helping me to pay attention to art. Granted, it's not always what I should be working on....but you know how that goes.



This one is driving me to distraction. Although I think it'll come out quite neat when it's through.

And to prove that I'm working on commissions. Here. This is my anthro commission. I'm liking it so far. I don't know how much she looks like a fox per se but I think the environment and the lighting will be good regardless.



Another case of my dumb- after having my current tablet for what, 2 years now? I finally programmed the quick keys. Yes I didn't have to suffer needlessly but meh. What's done is done.

I'm cranky cuz I've had a headache most of the day (unusual for me) and I think I'll go play some FF12 now.

Money, money, money

Mood is.......: thoughtful
Listening to..: something the roomie is watching on TV

Was updating my commission price guide/examples of my work and I realize....1) I don't draw enough single character work and 2) I don't charge enough for what I do draw. It's really a shame. I need to up my prices but I realize that 95% of my commission pool comes from my friends. And I would hate to price myself out of work.

Obviously, I need to expand my pool of commissioners. I have been hemming and hawing over Ellen Million's Portrait Adoption site. On the one hand, after the paperwork is done, I am free to do as much or as little work as I like. However, it's fantasy-based, which means armor (BLEH!) and the fact that after I complete an image there is no guarantee that it WILL be sold/make me money. And we all know time = money, especially to an artist. So back to the circle.

Then there is the eBay route. A friend of mine does fairly steady work via selling comic book character portraits through it. I would dearly love to get back to my roots but I can't see to find a good template for how to go about selling via eBay. Most of the art there is traditional media and the person is receiving an actual good. Which is not what I would be doing. So would anyone bother to buy something from me?

Bah. It's so funny, I've had no intention of being a 'real' artist for many years now....but it's my only income at the moment.

I hate irony.

And so not to have a post without art (this blog is not my ranting blog!) I leave you with my current commission WiP:



I'm fairly pleased with the background. I need to edit it a bit after I get done with the central characters (color harmony, shadows, etc) but overall I think it looks like an environment without being overly busy.

Just One

Mood is.......: pleased
Listening to..: fishtank (grrrr)
Scent is......: Grog

Like it says, just one tonight. Was inspired by a random comment by Vix about her Unavisi boy Glyph who suffers basically from schizoid personality disorder and for him my girl could be something of a 'guilty pleasure' and a deep affliction. While Stang isn't quite as innocent as she seems, or as people think she is, she's still basically a hugely loving and affectionate young woman. Which doesn't translate well in poor Glyph's brain. So yeah, sketchy time. I like his facial features but I'm not sure if I conveyed the conflicting emotions in him well. Hmmm.

Bah, bed now. O__<

Creeping, crawling...who's even reading the titles of these posts?

Mood is.......: sleepy
Listening to..: friggin' fishtank that makes noise all the DAMN time
Scent is......: Blood Rose
Watching......: fingers typing

Sorta coming out of the art block. Still need to kick my butt into high gear via commissions but at least I'm doing something. I don't really want to use this blog to expound on my personal life (especially since I can't lock it like LJ) but real life stresses really do affect creativity. Bah. Enough of that.



This is funny to me. I took a fairly bland reference of one character...and turned it into a bland reference of two brothers. Go me? Whatever. I do like the fact that they look similar enough to be related without looking like twins. Devil on the left and Numbat on the right. I totally copped out on the background but what the hell I don't do it often.



Sketch of Orsa (from the previous post) but as a young warrior woman. Thighs of doom are genetic and she can't escape them. (You can tell it's late and I really don't have much to say about these pics, can't you?)



Lastly this is one I have been working on and off all day. I'm liking the mood but the colors are off still. I can't get it as sharp as I'd like it to be. Texture ftw though. And yes, they are two guys, wanna fight about it? (Okay, we know it's time for bed when Lee starts making Family Guy references and talks about herself in third person).

Ciao whomever is actually paying attention to this or me anymore.

Fits of Inspiration

Mood is.......: Hungry
Watching......: FF12 opening credits

It is decidedly odd that my two current comforts/interests are the Regency period (with a fondness towards and interest in Austen films) and Final Fantasy 12. Neither of which has anything to do with the other. Although politic intrigue might've been quite interesting in Austin's hands.



More from the proposed letter game. Minor yet important characters. I might even make my 'speaker' an artist just to use some of these sketches I've done. It would be a waste not to and makes more sense than having someone writing a letter going off on a tangent about '....his nose while proud is a tad crooked and pointed' and 'his eyes flash in defiance of not only what was being said but the world in general' (purple prose anyone?).

The female is a tad too 'pretty' and not quite intelligent looking enough for what I've had in mind for her character. I am pleased with 'Nathaniel' however. He is quite the Byronic hero if I do say so.

Testing, 1, 2, 3

Mood is.......: Accomplished
Scent is......: Zodiac Club (Blooddrop)
Watching..: Blue Collar Comedy Rides Again

Just trying out new buttons and such. Nothing to see here. ;P

Grumble, mumble, grunt.

Being moody isn't fun. I can't concentrate on a single art piece when I am so I flit from art to art, trying to keep my head in the game.



You guys probably recognize this one since I just put it up a couple days ago. It's bad but once I stay getting going on a piece, I'm reluctant to put it away. So I fiddle. And I poke. And then I go, "well I'll just add a couple textures..." and next thing you know, it's 5 a.m. and you're listening to birds outside your window.



And this one is an older piece that I put away not too long ago. I thought I'd put it up online but I suppose I didn't. Anyways. It's supposed to represent both Yaba and Orsa's relationship (male and female respectively) and imperfect beauty.

I had trouble with that angle to his face until I picked it up again today. By no means is it perfect but it's a ton better than the original sketch. Unfortunately Yaba looks quite a bit younger than Orsa but we'll just go with the explanation that she's 'well traveled'. I do like the lighting but it needs a bit more fiddling. I'm also considering adding random shiny dust motes.....once I figure out how to in any case....



And lastly. Lineart by Sketchastrophe. I love her style but it lightyears different from mine. So when I saw how cute and young Av and Mul looked I decided to go super-manga girlie on the colors. And oddly enough, I do like it. It's not something I'd do a lot, mind you, but the warm tones are appealing.

Ugh, I have to sleep at some point so I can get up and watch Indiana Jones with the roomie.
Ciao.

Grrr.

I have somehow killed my tablet. Well not the tablet but lost the correct settings. (Hell for a time there, my comp couldn't even find the bloody wacom folder/items in said folder). Right now I'm trying to download new drivers but I don't really know if I'm accomplishing anything.

Bleh.

Edit:
Aaaaand just as I post that I fixed it. I guess. God, I'm a twit sometimes.

Edit, Part Deux:


This is really what I wanted to post up here. A friend of mine and I have been toying with the thought of playing 'the letter game' via email sometime in the future. Which of course, has me bubbling with thoughts and possibilities. Above is my main character Helena (aka Lena) and one of her antagonists Jason. I've discovered I'm quite fond of Regency era men's jackets although by no means am I particularly adept at design/drawing period clothes.

So now I can work in peace that I've got that out of my system. And eat. Food would be good right about now.

Backgrounds KILL me

I swear, I think I'm not going to even allow backgrounds to be an option next time I raise my commission prices. Bleh. I mean, they really complete an image but damn, I either score with them or crash and burn.

Take for example these next two images.


This is one of my commissions. I really am not thrilled with the background but what else can I do? I don't really have the time to start from scratch. And I'm still not sure that my figures are in proportion to the rest. I'm also pretty sure my angles are off. Do you know how hard it is to find a 'Dummy's version' of perspective and such? Sure, make sure they hit the horizon line at some point but what if you can't figure out where that is, hmm?

Ah well, I'll slog through and make the image more cohesive at the end. I just....need to take a breather.


Which is how this image got going. I swear I didn't mean to work so much on it but it was just...going really, really well. Cumber and Musk. Cumber is very fond of Musk with short hair. *snerk* Originally they were to be naked but......not quite comfortable with that yet. Besides, I think Cumber all mussy like this is sexier somehow.

The background on this isn't looking too shabby either. We'll decide if we still like it later however.

Ciao lovies!

Exploring

Getting an idea of the backgrounds of my babies. I already did a kinda what Dala was like earlier (will probably play around with that one too again, didn't like the result). So now you get Av and Papi with their parents prior to their deaths.



Papi is rather cute if you ask me. And don't be too harsh on my kid anatomy k?

Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiired.

Went and saw Prince Caspian the other day and am still continuing my love of pixelized menfolks of the FF12 vein (also am not posting up the sketches of my fancreated girl type creature). However, I am gifting you with two more pics.



This is inspired by a lady on my LJ friendslist, a comment she said which I cannot recall atm. And in fact the actual comment might not be important so much as the feel I got from it. It is a tegaki but I might rework it in other program. I'm not great at 'surreal' or abstract arts and this lends better to those than my usual fair. Still, there's a thought there that's not quite expressed and leaves me unsatisfied.



And I just did this not ten minutes ago. Just opened up Artrage and started sketching a face. I am surprised at the fact it's these two. My unavisi girl, Buck and a friend's boy, Colibri. I am amused at Col's *is not buying yo' shit* expression. Attempted a hand and mutilated it. Not uncommon however.

As the sun has risen, I should probably head t o bed. Ciao, lovies!

Sleep is for the WEAK

I'm having the damnedest time typing today. It's only getting worse as the night wears on (typing coherently is fun when you pass 4 am...). Anyways!



I figure I might as well post up my WiPs here too since this is my art blog. I figured out the owl pretty well for this one, although you can't see it thanks to the blocking in of the colors and such. Normally I like to clean up my WiP's a bit more before I show them...but I just don't care. I need sleep and I don't wanna go around nitpicking atm.



Basch. From Final Fantasy 12 (I'm not going to try to work out the Roman numerals, with the way my head is working now, I'd end up with FF 42 or something). Regardless. Best. Male. Character. Fangirls can have their Squalls and their Sephiroths (sp?), I'll take me a Basch please. Or two. Balthier is charming but there's something about a rugged man (especially rugged blond men) that makes me purr.

And it's not his physical appearance only (seriously! ;P) I enjoy his character too. Which I tried to bring into the drawing....by making him look old and tired. >>

I've even considered making a Mary Sue for the boy. :3 It's silly and I haven't made one in years but mmmmm.....anyways. Must actually finish playing said game and stop drooling at my party.

But bed now, Prince Caspian later today!

Learning Curves

Now that You're Clean... by ~pariahsdream on deviantART

Finished version of one of the sketches in my previous post. It still amuses me how art ends up with a life of its own. Take for example, this one was meant to have a cooler tone over all and look like they were in the middle of a hallway with metal walls. Now it's dirty and dank and rocky. Not bad...just different. I'm pleased with it (at least, at the moment ;p).

(Side-by-side)

And this is me screwing around with Artrage and Artweaver. Artrage for the pencils and 'weaver for the colors. The top sketch of Dala and Devil almost kissing is done with the crayon tool which made me want to buy real crayons and a coloring book. >> Nothing is quite so therapeutic as coloring in a coloring book.

The second sketch is Devil, Dala and a small, worried looking Gueira. I've been percolating on such scenarios for a little while now but regardless I think I like the clean lines better. The coloring on this one was done with the oil pastels tool and I need to remember that in 'traditional' media to lay down the lightest colors first.

But for now, back to the commission wheel.

Commissions. Commissions. how they make the world go round...

Or keep me from starving, one of the two. Did a BUNCH of sketches today. I'm fairly pleased with all of them. I don't usually share my sketches for commissions and such because I sketch very, very messily. But hey, that's kinda the point of the blog isn't it?
Anyways, onwards to the sketchies, in no particular order:

First two are for my girl, Silvercat, of two of our RP couples.

This one is of Shaw and Rurik, in a zombified/Resident Evil-like setting. Shaw is fond of attempting to flirt with Rurik. He is too but he doesn't enjoy it when he's only wearing a towel. ;p

The lines at the top are my scribbles trying to get height differences correct. Shaw's a tall woman, but Rurik's a beast. I don't think that my inches are correct but the size diff might still be okay, hopefully.

Next is Shaundra, Lazareth and Glim (Glim being the odd pink blob there in the right corner). Shau and Laz are from the Nephilim storyline and I was going for a playful sort of vibe since they are a younger couple. I don't know what possessed me to try that angle with his face, I KNOW it's gonna give me heartache. Ah well. I still have to work out Glim's body too, I think he's a tad large but then again, perspective....

Speaking of my girl, Silvercat, another friend of ours bought a couple portrait from me and asked for her character and Cat's together:

I thought the image was kinda cute, although now I'm regretting that I thought it would be a good idea to stick a bird smack dab in the middle. I am terrible at animals.

And yet 4 different commissions have animals or animal-like characters in them. Go fig. The next two are some of the most difficult.

This one is from a girl via DA of her anthro RP character. The details are a bit sketchy so I've poked her to help elaborate on them a bit. I'm not used to anthro characters but I don't think I did too terribly bad here. She's supposed to be a fox.

And this one...guh. Six characters and three animals (one is a tiny lizard, hard to see). The names at the top are there to remind me who's who when I have to pick this up again. Kind of a family portrait of the Lodge's residents (and frequent visitor). I'm particularly fond of Sev's body language (the grumpy one in the right corner).

One more Unavisi one, this time for Sketchtastrophe. Her Butternut and Ravekitten's Ace. Butter runs a tabacco...shop (or whatever it's called) and I thought it would be cute to play with the smoke a bit in the corner there. We'll see how that goes, I've tried smoke before with mixed results.

Last of the commission sketches!

This is Turbov2.1's City of Heroes characters. He wanted a scene where the 'villain' Doctor Developer is chatting up his hostage, Lady Lawful. I did a couple different poses for him; he'd originally asked for DD standing while speaking to her, but he picked this one at the end.

These last two aren't sketches so much as WiP's, pictures for my own pleasure at it were (even if I wanna pull out my hair sometimes).

First one is my Unavisi brothers, Devil on the left and Numbat on the right. Dev's hair is a pain in the ass but I love it. I'm really warming up to his character, despite the fact that he's not turning out to be 'nice'. He's actually...quite selfish and self-interested. I'm also thinking his voice sounds like the guy who played Dorian Grey in "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman". That or Mick Jagger. One of the two. /tangent



And this one. This one I'm going to finish even if it KILLS me. I love it so much right now. I already hate the fact I've covered up so much of the background-o-DOOM but I want the scene to feel crowded. I'd also love to drabble about what the hell is going on but I don't know if I can do it by myself.

I also have plans to turn it into one of those tabloid pics too...complete with scandalous article. I've always wanted to do an image like a magazine layout, with text and everything.

Well, that's all for today. Ciao lovies!

Welcome

Trying out an art blog. I don't know how well this will go but can't hurt to try.

Speaking of which, I've recently downloaded Artrage2 and Artweaver both. So far I'm intrigued. Artrage has a pencil tool that really does seem to mimic pencil lines quite well (there's an example at the end of this post). Artweaver has more functionality and I think I will use to try different sorts of colors. Its pencil tool isn't nearly as realistic but at least it has layers. Both are free to use, although Artrage has limited tools unless you pay for the free version (which is only $25). When I have the money I might consider actually purchasing Artrage.

It's format/design is too kitschy/fugly for my tastes but I can work around it. I prefer my canvas to be functional not 'pretty'. Artweaver on the other hand could use some polishing but I don't mind it looking a bit barebones- it's freeware.

Speaking of art programs, I am/was attempting to Tegaki E with mixed results. It's frustrating on a few levels- no layers, the pen tool isn't sensitive and the canvas is tiny (of course I was using my laptop too so that could've been part of the problem there). Still it's always good to stretch oneself and attempt things you aren't comfortable with.

But yes, I'm sure you're wondering, 'okay, art blog, so where's the art already?'

Coming up!

Tegaki E Stuff:
(Random hot dude who I accidentally named Asuba. Don't ask me. I do like the purple lighting)

(Elena a la Prodigals/'Normal' verse, she's got an Audrey Hepburn sort of vibe...or she's supposed to)

(Phoenix of the X-Men/Excalibur fame- Rachel Summers version, my preferred one)

And the sketch I did in Artrage. With a little PS blurry/copyright:


I have more Tegaki but those are the ones I don't mind so much. Don't know how often I'll be updating but hopefully I won't neglect this.