Category Archives: Uncategorized

Making up Emotions

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     I enjoy my time at work. It sounds like the kind of thing weirdos and self employed people utter, but it’s true. I get to be really creative and my down time allows for artistic flexibility.

      Video projects need to be rendered to keep them from taking up to much processing time. When that happens, you can get to work on other things, like drawings!

      Lately, I’ve been doing more traditionally rendered drawings; not necessarily an active choice but one I’m enjoying immensely. Usually my ladies are pretty buff and athletic.

     The real purpose of this is to practice hair. Even more so than hands or expressions, hair completely ruins an image if done incorrectly. 

     The only way to get better is to keep practicing. When will I be done? That’s the fun part! You’re NEVER done practicing.

A Good Life

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     I’m doing a series of sketches for a young lady that will be made into postcards for her. Easy enough work, and she seems easy to please.

     So many of my projects are like this. Cute drawings meant to flatter without being overly expensive or extensive. I don’t mind; it keeps me active without getting bogged down on one thing.

     I feel pretty content right now. No, it won’t last, but it’s not supposed to. Your good times get spaced out so you can enjoy them. 

Do so.

WTFW

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     First off, I owe you guys an apology. I’ve posted twice but you didn’t see that because my app updated and changed the process by which you post updates. Since I usually do these on Monday on my train ride to work, I didn’t notice I hadn’t posted since two weeks ago! 

    Now for the image. I joined a Facebook group called daily art challenge. Everyday they post a new picture and you have to draw it that day. It’s a cool little exercise and since my clients are sometimes resistant to having me post their private art, this can allow me to do so.

Win/win.

     I do have a few reservations however. Actually it always comes back to the same thing; am I simply producing free art for some group? I’ve noticed a few times that I didn’t participate that I was asked to. That a member couldn’t wait to see my interpretation of the photo provided.

     I am always wary of this type of thing. It’s why I avoid contest where the sponsoring company claim domain over the rights to your stuff in perpetuity, whether you win or not. Screw that!!

      I hope I don’t come off as a crank. Artists tend to not notice these types of things until they’re too late. And full disclosure, I sold this to a co-worker who adored it for ten bucks. 

    It is artWORK, after all.

Illicit Response

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     Okay…. I’m not sure about the age of my audience. I drew this pretty quickly, so hopefully no one gets upset. Ready? Here we go…

    So as much as finished pieces gets all the glory, it’s the ground work that makes it all come together.

      I honestly was never one for sketching in the past. If I had an idea, I would just dive right in, no plan, just improvising as needed.

     But as I got further along in my career, I learned that having a plan isn’t necessarily a bad thing! It actually helps to know in advance what you’re doing. It helps in a lot of ways.

    For instance, I already knew ​where my light source would come from. It made layering my skin tones a LOT simpler.

    Having a good layout helps with the speed I’m able to use here. I can reverse the image to make sure I have the balance needed.

    Now that I’m happy with it, I can begin to blend my colors and perform little tweaks that are required for the look I’m after.

     Now all I need to do is clean up my Image and give her shadows a little depth by cooling them off.

    A lot of these things become easier with time. Give them a try!

Mandatory Wishes

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     I finally made my price list for commissioned work. It didn’t take me too long; it was more of a matter of me procrastinating, truthfully.

    No, this isn’t going to be a rant about customers and what they’re willing to pay. Instead I’m talking about artists and what’s​considered fair market value for what they create.

     Let’s face it; some (most) of the artists I know are terrible at marketing themselves. Quite a few are antisocial, which is fine if you’re already famous, not so much when you’re a complete unknown.

     My best and possibly worst examples of this are scammers; people who either modify an artist’ work or copy it completely in order to sell it as their own. These scum have NO problem with confidence or marketing. I honestly believe that a lot of artists could benefit from learning how to do so from these inhuman things. 

     There are a lot of reasons for not succeeding. You should never let yourself be one of them.

Rdh

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Finally!!! My page has been acting up for a couple of weeks, but it seems to be working so far. You know what that means kids? You guys get a twofer! 

   So I went back to touch up this image. You guys might remember that I drew this using prismacolor markers. Well after getting a really good scan created I was not impressed with the quality of my image.

    So I put it in Photoshop and added a few gradients and highlights. The difference was huge! It was nice taking a skill I already had and using a new one to create a totally different effect.

     Anyway, it restored my faith in being able to do vehicles. I might even give my transformer, Optimus Prime, an update.

Surprise!

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     Yeah yeah, I know. ” What the hell is he doing posting in the middle of the week?” 

    Well two reasons. One, Lee Binks of #leebinksfitness is competing in the Arnold Europe, so I decided to draw her as motivation. I’m cool like that. Go Lee!

      The other is that I was trying out a new sketchpad. However, I forgot an important factor; paperweight. It absorbs ink, but only to a limit, so it was resistant to my usual technique. Ugh!!

    So I got more of a watercolor look. See? So never stop learning or trying something new. It’s okay to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them.

Fun is Work

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     I can’t believe how many projects I have going now! It’s ridiculously draining, lol. No anime, no gaming, just art ALL THE TIME!!

   Isn’t that awesome?

    Of course not every piece has to be super realistic or complicated. Take this one. It’s a picture of a friend, done in Photoshop. I’d promised it to her a while ago. Felt nice to actually make it.

   I suppose I could polish it a bit more, but the comic book feel would be lost. 

  I did have to make a few anatomy corrections; otherwise it looks like her. I was glad to do it because it was fun. 

    Now that the head is the right size, I can send it to her. She was pretty happy and I had a good time. 

    I wish everyday was that way.

Be

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    Yay! I actually got permission to post my digital art! Maybe I was wrong to give the choice, but I feel that portraits​ are kinda personal. 

     I’ve been so busy with repairing my home. It’s a little over one hundred years old and it’s last update was in the 80’s. I’m not trying to go too modern, but things like floor sag and bad rafters come before the pretty stuff. Foundations first!

     Maybe I should just enjoy this period of my life. After all, it hasn’t been this quiet in a long time. No impending doom, just everyday things. I should be content.

    Ha! Who am I fooling? Even though it’s true, that’s just not my nature. After a decade of nothing but one emergency after another, there is no way I could fully believe that calm waters are ahead. But is that experience or paranoia?

    I gave up on happy. It abandoned me. My world has been mostly grey with occasional flashes of color. I’ve come to accept it, even appreciate those rare instances.

    Was I wrong? Could it be?

     Here’s the truth; I WANT to be. I really do. I know it’s a little like giving up on life the way I live. But I’m not sorry. It’s my way of… I’m getting my affairs in order. That’s all I’ve been doing. Stalling in the hopes that it isn’t necessary, but keeping my distance from life so that I won’t mind parting with it.

    Dammit.

   Okay. I need to start doing more than getting by. I need to find joy in little things. Like my art. It doesn’t need to be complicated because now I know what I want!
  I want to be.