I put the final touches on Hell(Sack)Boy today including revised legs, shorts with a hole for his tail, decorative top stitching, and a cigar. I kind of liked him without the decorative stitches, but he’s cute this way, too.
Hell(Sack)Boy
Category Archives: Art
Works in progress, sketches, finished illustration, and miscellaneous art work
First Colored Pencil Thingie
So I went to the second session of the beginner’s colored pencil class I am taking with my father tonight and finished up the orchid sketch we all started last week.
We were only allowed to use the three primary colors of red, yellow, and blue and white for burnishing last Wednesday, but this week the instructor said that we could use any other pencils we had as well. I figured that since I’d already pushed the values of my drawing pretty far using the primaries, I might as well finish with them instead of bringing in lilacs, pinks, and purples that would have matched the original reference image better–if I’d had access to them from the beginning.
This is a whole new medium for me, so I’m still figuring out how to integrate what I know about black and white drawing and digital coloring to a traditional medium that combines elements of both.
It’s a start anyway.
1/16/08 Log: Maggie’s Artistic Renaissance
I only got in half of my workout this morning due to time constraints (I have to get to work early on Wednesdays for the next 6 weeks in order to leave early enough to get to the colored pencil drawing class I’m taking with my dad on the other side of town), but I have brought my bokken with me to work so I can do 30-45 minutes of Forza during my lunch break. If the class tonight doesn’t run too late, I’ll finish up the rest of my TT workout when I get home.
I’m pretty hyped about this class. I haven’t taken an art class in over 6 years (and have always been largely self-taught anyway as my practical parents wanted me and my sister to focus on “real” studies like math and English through high school), and I’ve always wanted to give colored pencils a try. While I have always done some traditional pencil drawing, all of my coloring is done digitally in Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. I also bought Painter a few years ago, but still haven’t gotten around to learning the software. Around 2001, I took Painting I in college and was told that I wasn’t too horrible at oils considering that I had never painted before, but I haven’t picked up a paint brush since then. I think I am color-phobic with real, non-digital media.
I hope that taking this class with my father in tow will inspire both of us to pick up a portable, rewarding new hobby. I’ve been pushing only pixels around too long now at work. It’s time to relearn the joy of taking a pencil to real paper again.
Here are some pieces from my past:
Eagle (Charcoal on 11″x14″ paper)
Aspect of Fate (Graphite drawing; Photoshop colors. Available as stationery products from Ellen Million Graphics.)
Still Life (Oil on canvas. This was my first painting…EVER. It’s not very exciting, but I still like it for nostalgic reasons.)
Summoned Creatures Concepts (Graphite on paper)
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WORKOUT
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– TT 2K3B (40 min)
– Forza (30 min)
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NUTRITION
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M1) 53g Go Lean Crunch, 1/3 c. light soy milk, 3 egg whites
M2) Homemade trail mix (1/2 oz. walnuts, 20 g raisins, 1 dried apricot, 1/4 c. Fiber One cereal)
M3) 4 oz. Creole seasoned chicken breast, 1 c. veggie mix, 1/2 c. Kashi 7-grain pilaf
M4) Chocolate banana protein smoothie
M5) 4 oz. chicken breast, 1 c. veggie mix
M6) 2 protein fudgsicles, 1/2 oz. walnuts
Est. Calories/Ratios: 1429 calories; 40% carb / 41.5% pro / 23.4% fat
Supplements: multivitamin, calcium 600 mg + D, vitamin C, 5g l-glutamine, 3 fish oil caps
PinkDumbbells.com Gear ($9.99-$11.49 w/Free Shipping)
Through December 26, Zazzle.com is running a free shipping special on their 11oz Classic White Mugs (typically $12.95), 11oz Ringer Mugs (typically $14.95), 11oz Two Tone Mugs (typically $14.95), 11oz Morphing Mugs (typically $18.95), and basic one-sided t-shirts ranging in size from youth XS to adult XL (typically $14.95) for $9.99 through December 26, 2006. Basic t-shirts with the Pinkdumbbells.com logo on the back are $11.49, also with free shipping. Get an additional 6% cashback bonus if you are a member of Ebates.com or 10% cashback if you belong to Fatwallet.com.
Pink Dumbbells Gear at Zazzle.com
To get the $9.99 or $11.49 prices on the shirts, click on the Customize button on the display page for the design you want, then on the right, click the “Mens” tab and then choose the Basic T-Shirt thumbnail picture (first style on the left). You can have the design printed on any color of basic T.
Unfortunately, none of the Women’s style t-shirts are included in the sale.
The Morphing Mug is pretty neat, though. It changes from solid black when cold to white with the PDB logo revealed when a hot liquid like green tea is poured into it. :silly:
SketchSouth Newbie Report
In “What’s going on with my life” news, I attended the weekly SketchSouth drawing group for the first time last night at the local Barnes and Noble store. There were about a dozen local artists there, most of whom work in the comic book or illustration style versus making high-falutin’ fine art with deep, impenetrable symbols and meanings.
Jokes were told, pictures were drawn, coffee was drunk (though not by me–I stuck with my Nalgene bottle of water), and Animal Crossing: Wild World items were exchanged, at least between me and the uber-talented Joel Carroll. Alas, his equally-talented girlfriend Amy Williams forgot to bring her DS, so I couldn’t visit her town. Damon and Ed (and Ed’s girlfriend Erin), my occasional karaoke partners, were also there.
It was a kick to hang out with other illustrators my own age and a big boot to the backside for my motivation to draw more. There’s nothing like seeing art work that is miles and miles ahead of your own to make an artist’s competitive drive rev up to full speed.
Here’s my doodle from last night. I’ll be making an attempt to ink and color this one this weekend.
If it turns out well, I’ll be coming up with some t-shirt designs for PDB as well.
Two more Winx color tests
Random coloring practice
I grabbed a black and white line drawing of the Winx Club character Musa from the Winx Club web site and used it for digital coloring practice yesterday. My style is usually more realistic, but I want to get better at cel-style coloring so I can knock out some kick butt t-shirt designs for Pink Dumbbells.
This one took about 3 hours to color using Adobe Photoshop 6.0.
