14 November 2008

My geeky roots are showing

Mood is.......: tired
Listening to..: the AC unit running outside
Watching......: Criminal Minds (or about to)
Dunno how I got onto this kick. Might've been the convo with Mel yesterday (I think?) about what's going on in the comic book world. Sufficed to say, I won't be picking up anything anytime soon if they keep doing stupid shit. Ah well, the kernel of the characters are good.


This one I've already shown off the sketch but I've been poking at it. I hate the pose I stuck GA in (the male) and now I've made him too skinny. Well I don't hate the pose so much as drawing it frustrates me.
But I do like their expressions. I'm not fully sold on Canary's 'Smallville' inspired hair. I like the way they rocked it in the stills but I haven't quite got it here.


Man oh man it's been a long time since I drew Rogue. And more over, I've never drawn her as well as I have here. When I was poking around looking at Canary drawings, I noticed a cheesecake theme. Which isn't surprising considering her outfit but not something I'm fond of considering her personality. What that has to do with Rogue...I'm not sure. Except her outfit kinda reminds me of this one of Rogue's above. It isn't the one I grew up on (that was the green and yellow + bomber jacket) but it's my favorite.


Also, check out that expression. Rogue should be impish and a little crazy/naughty. Not emo dammit (or at least not emo-overload jeez).
That's all tonight, back to packing.

12 November 2008

A commissions and some thoughts

Mood is.......: hungry
Listening to..: the tv
Watching......: "Law and Order" on TNT
I've been going slower than I'd like on my last few commissions. Some of it is the whole moving thing, the other is the fact that I'm just tired of thinking of interesting ways of drawing people and situations. Granted, I take pride in making my commissions interesting but I'm getting burnt out. I doubt that I'd get pleasure doing the regular straight on or 3/4's view either but I dunno. Maybe I just need to figure out something new to offer, something with a little more structure?

Anyways. Ruthie's last commission of our characters- Spencer and Ariel (otherwise known as 'Fishie'). I'm definitely liking the green as the base to the skin tones and it even works for the hair (since they are blond) but I'll have to play with it more with other skin tones and colors. I did go to art school and I do know color theory (in theory) but that was done with real paint.

Been thinking about putting up some commissions on ebay and then maybe doing some portrait adoptions for EllenMillion's portrait adoption site. Except I'm not guaranteed money from either (and I'd really like to get away from the fantasy part of my art). Still, from what I've seen, in order to sell prints and things, fantasy would probably get me money if I took out the extremely personal aspects of them and made them more universal. Which is an interesting thought but ultimately sort of frustrating. I like creating art that appeals to me, it's why I became an artist- to have control and tell 'my stories' basically. But in order to make money, I need to make my stuff more approachable. I'm just not creative enough to come up with something that appeals to a wide range and I'm not talented enough to get by on 'pretty pictures' alone.

Speaking of talent, I ran across this rant at DA. I find it interesting what the artist says (haven't had a chance to read all the way through the comments) about perhaps using the term aptitude rather than talent. I like that. It gives more accomplishment to the artist rather than write it off as something that was handed to them. My less-than-artistically-inclined roommates (and even the one who was) can attest to how many hours I spent in front of my computer working on my art. Because art is a living thing that stretches and grows. And more over, if you don't use it, you do lose it to certain degrees. It's not just hanging around in your head waiting for you to pick it up whenever you feel like it. And that's enough of that.

I've also been considering getting into more 'hands on' stuff. I'm almost an exclusively digital artist right now and I find myself wanting to do ACEO cards. I think it might be fun- except I've never been able to do traditional media with the same flair or interest as CG. But hey, sketching can't kill me.

Another thing I'd like to try out is working on 'face ups' for BJD (ball joint dolls). Stuff like this one here would be immensely satisfying I think (and I adore freckles). I've seen some with tattoos that would be really fun to play with too. I don't really want to own a BJD (at least not at their prices, yikes) but the idea of making them from a blank canvas into someone or something really really appeals. Sort of like the make-up heads from when you were a kid (although those only came up colored in certain parts, bah).

And I think that's enough rambling for today. More as I figure out what I want for a new tattoo.

06 November 2008

A couple commissions and curls, killer curls

Mood is.......: distracted
Watching......: channel surfing
First off. Another commission for Ruthie. I'm enjoying this set up although I need to figure out how to draw fish. >>

Next is K@'s killer commission. I think it'll be pretty awesome in the end but for right now I feel like I'm going crosseyed. Also, I hate Tam and his clothes. It was easier to draw him when he was only in pants. >P

I did a meme over on my LJ about my style and what I need to do more of. Both comments mentioned that I needed to work on different body types. Which I know. I don't think my characters look particularly long/lanky but other people do. And mostly I draw action oriented characters so there is a reason for it often. But I digress!
This is one of my non-action oriented girls, Izzy. Izzy whom I'm very fond of. Tried to make her look short and round. I hope it worked.

And finally, I am an art masochist. I spotted Prism-chan's Snow White and Rose Red lineart and decided I had to do it. One- it's so pretty and two, I've always been fond of said fairy tale. But then I realized that all that prettiness is because of lots and lots of detail. Including killer curls.

Obviously not finished but I'm stuck on getting colors for the last bits. I want Red to have warm tones at least.
That's all!

05 November 2008

Ruthie Collabs

Mood is.......: tired
Listening to..: the refrigerator running
Watching......: Criminal Minds
Just a few tonight. Like I've said elsewhere, coloring helps me relax. These are sketches/inks done by my girl Ruthie. Most of the time of our characters as seen below.

2nd generation characters from a storyline that involved Ruthie's Felara race. I liked this one because I think I managed to pull off that 'watercolor' look I was going for. Or close to it at least. Funnily enough I envisioned it at night when I first saw the sketch. Ah well.
Next two are Skinwalker characters. First is an ADORABLE image of Dare (Darius) playing with Mikey. I lovelovelove the sketch and it screamed out that it needed color.

Next is of Ben and Nori. I had the worst time with the bedding so I kinda fudged it towards the end. This was started in my brief period of fascination with the 'white dot highlight' phase. It looks alright but it doesn't work with how I color. I do like that I used green for the base tone, I need to do that more often.

And lastly, a sketch I did of my last Selenthian. I don't have a name for him, all I know he's based on a bison. Frankly I wanted to draw horns and fun ears.

I've decided my female Selenthian is gonna have a passing resemblance to Rita Hayworth too.
Well that's all for tonight, thanks for stopping by. <3