Tag Archives: art

The Wall of Why

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     Listening to Sugar Ray while sitting in my art room drinking shots.  How old school is that? I’m actually adding my shadow layer now. Since shadows are never actually black (unless you’re that feeb, batman), I try to pick a color that’s on the far end range of the neutral skin tone I chose. Also, an overall warmth will be a part of this image so instead of a cooler version I went with a reddish brown.

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     I’ll admit that I have no real preference as to where I start my shading process. I’m sure there’s probably a very technical reason for it; to me it simply feels right. Lately I’ve been reading about how digital art seems “soulless” to some. As a personal choice I try not to completely smooth out my shadows and layers of color. I actually like my stuff a little rough! Again no true reason for it, other than it appeals to me. Could it be that I’m starting to develop my own style?…

Mayk

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    Back to work!  This is the last of the fitness competitors that I have to draw. Needless to say it’s been a long series of drawings to get through. Couple that with a few requests to NOT be featured here and you can see I’ve got a real sense of relief.

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      The way I go about these steps tends to vary, with me frequently simply going by feel. This time I decided to go with using a brush set at 30percent with reduced hardness. I color in with a larger version to block in my areas of light. Then, using a smaller setting, I add detail to this layer.

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      The reason I can concentrate on just shading is because I made this layer a clipping mask of the one below. Trust me, unless you enjoy doing line clean up, this is MUCH easier.

Greydae Blue

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      Aaargh! I lost more of my pencils! This couldn’t happen at a worse time. Since I was in D.C., I decided to go online and search for art supply stores in the area. Not only did one turn up, they had the original mixed media prismacolors!

    I immediately struck out to get to their store. The first leg of the journey was easy; I got on the redline of the metro and rode until we arrived at the North Farragut entrance. Took the escalator up into a gloomy Washington day. Then I had to walk up K street.

      For four blocks.

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Was I happy to see this place!

       Of course I became turned around until a good Samaritan told me that it was in the building next to the CVS store on the other side of the street. Once there I walked up to the counter with a little trepidation. Maybe they sold out or didn’t carry them anymore. I was suddenly nervous.

     “Do you guys carry prismacolor pencils? “I asked, barely concealing my anxiety.

     Yes! Yay!

     The staff was very friendly and courteous to me and I was able to acquire my prize.

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Mission accomplished!

       Suddenly remembering I’d used up an hour of my 30 minute lunch,  I thanked them profusely and left. It seemed so much brighter outside. Hadn’t it been raining when I got here? Oh well…

Happy New Year!

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      Yay, I finished my picture!  Hugs all around. Even though I missed the bodybuilding show that a lot of customers attended,  a couple of people sent me pictures…

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      Of course I have no idea what I’m going to do with them. All the images,  coincidentally, are of the female competitors. And this far away. At least they were being helpful,  so if you’re reading this, thanks.

      To be honest a lot of my energy right now is being expended on getting my home repaired. But hey, if you can’t make time to draw, what’s the point?

Post Stupidity

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    Woke up this morning and started another picture. I guess you could say that I was struck by inspiration. It definitely had nothing to do with the coughing fit that drug me out of a deep sleep to spit up a lung…

     Nope. Nothing at all.

     I played pool with a guy this weekend while his wife watched. After a couple of games and much drinking and mirth, she remarked that guys seem to fall into friendship so easily. We both looked at her and he said “friends? We don’t even know each other’s name! We’re just having a good time”.

     I think that’s what I’m doing with my life right now. Interacting with people, but not engaging anyone.

    It’s a living.

Life

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   I’m a terrible person to try to keep up with. A lot of things have happened to me recently and I was sidelined for a moment. Still, I only slowed down and my drawing was always at the forefront of my concerns.

    Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been doing more”traditional” type work. For me, it’s a little easier to do; I still find myself concentrating somewhat to illustrate digitally. Oh well…

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    This image bothers me. It’s not that it’s inaccurate or incomplete. It took all of 10 minutes to realize what was wrong; I like her. When you draw someone you like, there’s a glow on them, but it’s only in your head. So it gets lost in the recreation. That’s why artists tend to repeatedly draw their muses to some extent; you can’t draw love, you can only feel it.

Dirty Souls

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     I spent most of this morning correcting the line art and making a scrumptious crotch for this image. It wasn’t hard actually. Even though most of the work went easily enough, I still have a hard time giving her a good background.

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      After changing the color and adapting my shadow layer to her light source, I decided to stop here.

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          I’ll finish the hair later, promise.

Maliciously Innocent

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      Some of you may have noticed that my workflow on this image has been a little bit different. I started with my sketch and didn’t bother to clean up my linework at ALL. I even laid my colors down on one layer. What gives?

      I’m trying to show you guys that there’s more than one way to get the job done. A lot of people will try to convince you that there’s only one and its theirs. But you honestly have to try different techniques!  For me, my style is an amalgam of all of my influences; sci fi, comic books, anime and porn. Yes porn.

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does it show?

        You may have other graphic styles influencing you. Go for it! It’s okay to copy someone else’s style when you’re starting out, but eventually you will notice that you admire bits and pieces of a lot of artists.

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       You may have noticed that I brushed my flat colors in then used my burn and dodge tools to get tonal range on the skin.I’m not going for realism here, more of a cartoon style effect. Later I’ll add shadows and highlights with a soft brush set at about 20% opacity. I used this on the leather and her cleavage and got a pretty good effect.

     Don’t be afraid to experiment. It may not always work out, but it will always pay off.

Pretty People Don’t Lie

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     There’s a reason now for why this isn’t linked to my Facebook page. I’m being harangued by a lot of pretty girls to draw their images. Remember the redhead I was drawing for awhile? Well she’s a close friend (eyes front buddy, no hanky panky here) and she put the word out.

       Anyway…yes the above image looks a little sketchy. Usually I would do my lines and delete it; it never occurred to me that I was leaving out a whole step in my process. My bad!

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Maybe this step too?

     Lately I’ve noticed that my hand shakes. Not a lot. I’m sure a normal person wouldn’t notice,  but the ability to create smooth arcing lines is kinda useful. I’ll admit that formal training may help, so I’m going to take some art classes next semester. Stay tuned…