Stephanie in Painter


















I'd really like to learn Painter--I've had it since version 1 and still don't know much more than the basics. This was a pencil sketch that I used as an excuse to 'paint.' I need to do the tutorials or read the manual that I paid extra for so I'm not flailing around so much.

This actually looks better at this small size, so please don't click on it for a larger version. :)

Black Vinyl


















I'm continuing to experiment with watercolor, markers, ink and acetate.

As an exercise to improve my drawing skills, I start out drawing a figure in pencil, struggling to work out problems with proportion and accuracy, and ending up with a not-so-lovely pencil drawing. Then I throw that on a lightbox and, using it as a guide, loosely draw with ink and markers on acetate (I have lots of acetate left over from the old days of keyline/mechanical boards. You young kiddies won't know what the heck I'm talking about . . . heh heh.)

I do a separate watercolor, again very loosely, just playing with color and not worrying too much about anything but pleasing color and brushstrokes.

Finally, I combine the ink drawing and the watercolor in Photoshop, cleaning up a bit if necessary. Sometimes I'm pleased, sometimes it's a total throwaway but I do feel like I learn something from each one.

Inspired by a stock photo from Onnagata-stock on DeviantART.


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Monsieur Bignose



















I never draw guys with big noses. Well, until now, for some reason. I think he looks a bit French.

I have been so intimidated by everyone else's awesome art lately that I have barely been able to pick up a pencil. Stop it, all of you!

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Illustration Friday: Gravity


















...or lack thereof.

Done in Photoshop from a quick sketch, using reference from Armathor-Stock on DeviantArt.

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Orange Dress


















Fooling around with watercolor, pencil, ink, acetate, Photoshop...using a stock photo by simona on DeviantART.

I am amazed at the number of resources on DA, like stock photos and tutorials. Plenty of stuff to keep you busy if you're looking for 'models'—I feel like a kid in a candy store. ;)

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Another Nude Dancer


















Graphite and white charcoal pencil on tinted paper.

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DeviantART
I'm trying out a link-with-pic for my DeviantART page, where I'm spending more and more of my time at the moment. I don't think it looks that great...how the heck can I shift the thing over to the left a bit so it lines up, I wonder...

Anyway, check it out if you're so inclined. Nothing new there yet, just the old stuff.

EDIT: Okay, upgrading to the 'new' Blogger lost the DA link with graphic...so, eh. Back to just a text link; I don't think I cared for it much anyway.

Nude Dancer

Happy Blogiversary to Me-e-e-e...

One year ago today I started this blog with hope--that I'd actually draw more regularly and improve-- and a lot of trepidation. It's been a whole year and I think I've made some progress. :) A big part of that has been all the great comments that people have left here: thanks to all of you! And I'm especially grateful to regular visitors like Patrick, Mel, Artfish, Daryl, Chris, Dan and more--your support via those little comments has made a huge difference! Thank you!

Scribbles

































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Illustration Friday: Red


















The often scary and always fun-to-watch Hazel Bailey, played by Alison Newman, on "Footballers Wives." Just a fast one as I was running out of time...grrr. But had to give it a try!

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She's Cranky


















Did a little scribbly sketch today when I was supposed to be working. Then I had some fun vectorizing it in Freehand and adding color in Photoshop.

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Hands














Decided 2007 is the year I finally learn to draw decent hands. So that's all I've been working on the past few weeks...

Belly Dancer






















For another Drawing Board thread.

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Drawing Board Jam: Anais


















For the January Jam, at the Drawing Board forums.

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Drawing Board Jam: Charlize


















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Vector Nude Again












Husband insists this is the better version, so I'm throwing it out there. I thought the simpler treatment was the best way to go. But this one is looking better to me now. Ha—so maybe he was right.

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Illustration Friday: Phoenix






















Pat Phoenix played the unforgettable Elsie Tanner on the British series "Coronation Street."

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Purple Vector Nude











I was struggling with a pencil drawing I was doing, got disgusted with it and just re-drew it in pencil with some quick shapes. I liked the result enough to scan it and use it as a template in Freehand...this was the result. It was interesting to duplicate the rough pencil lines using the bezigon tool...a lot of interesting changes happened. I'd like to do this again sometime.

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Season's Greetings


















Ha--you find the most interesting things when you do an end-of-year cleaning of your studio... I wish I'd found this last week, but oh well. I did this many, many years ago. (Anyone recognize who she is?)

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Happy Holidays To You


















. . . and have a Photoshop cookie. :)

To art bloggers everywhere, and to all who stop by my humble blog--Happy 2007. :)

Illustration Friday: Mask

















Made from cut paper.

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SketchCrawl
Anyone from the Lansing, Michigan area interested in getting together for some sketching on Saturday, Dec. 9? I'm really intrigued with the idea of a worldwide SketchCrawl...see info here.

Drawing Jam: Leslie


















For November's Drawing Jam on the Drawing Board.

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Happy Stock Photo Girl

















For work I often have to search through stock photo sites for stuff for the jobs I do...I often come across photos, like the one I used as reference for this drawing, that I grab and set aside. I liked this pose because it was unusual, and I am trying to challenge myself more, subject- and pose-wise. Scribbled it up in non-photo blue pencil and scribbled more in black fine-point marker.

Note to self: you need to draw a LOT more hands. And next time, try not to make the head look like it was pasted onto the body, please. Thank you.

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Caricatures








Caricatures are something I never do, but I think I might do more, after having finished this attempt. I don't think it was particularly successful (but fun, nevertheless.) The middle one kinda fell flat, but I'm not altogether unhappy with the first and third one.

They were done with marker, scanned and color added in Photoshop. Part of a caricature thread that has been going on for nearly a year and many pages, over at the Drawing Board forum.

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Drawing Jam: Anahi


















For the October drawing jam at the Drawing Board. I am becoming much more interested in watercolor these days; just slopping paint around is very therapeutic when you're swamped with work!
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Post-it® portraits and a cartoon puppy



































Too busy with work to do much more than scribble on sticky notes at the moment!

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More Emily Booth




































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Emily Booth Portrait


















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Illustration Friday: Smitten
















I wasn't going to attempt to illustrate IF's current theme, but while reading a newspaper article a few days ago that word 'smitten' jumped out at me from an article about people splurging on luxury items despite the poor economy here in Michigan. With the article was a photo of a woman who had just paid $8,000 for a coat that she was simply *smitten* with. Yikes. She had the most smug, self-satisfied expression on her face as she posed...stating that she does a better job when she feels good about what she's wearing.

I thought I'd try to capture that haughty look in a quick pencil sketch, with some color added in Photoshop. I didn't quite get it, but it was fun trying.

For the record, I can't imagine why anyone would spend $800 for a coat, let alone $8,000.

Kitty Sketch

Seated nude



















Had to do some touching up in Photoshop on this; even that couldn't help her arm and right leg. Still, I think I nearly nailed that foot. :) Onward and upward!

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Struggling


















Still trying to get back in the groove--work pressures are a distraction! Some bothersome proportion issues in this one but I'm throwing it out there anyway...

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Young Soldier



















I was intrigued by a newspaper photo accompanying an article on soldiers of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army. The elaborately-wrapped turban on this young man inspired me; I rarely draw fabric and the folds and wrinkles were a fun challenge.

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Good Grief

The longer you go without posting (or drawing, for that matter) the easier it is to procrastinate. I hereby vow to draw and post something the next FIVE DAYS. If I don't, may this blog be struck by lightning.



















Scribbly marker sketch done this weekend just to jumpstart things...

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Yee Haw!
So I made it through the torturous HELL that is moving. I need to see if I remember how to draw after all that; guess I just need to pick up pencil and paper (did I unpack those??) and see how it goes. Also I'm way behind at checking all my favorite blogs...so I'll probably do that first for some much-needed inspiration.

P.S. Thanks to you terrific people who actually continued to check here even though there wasn't anything going on! :)

On the move!

Well, this will be my last post for a while. Much of the studio has been boxed up (though I'll still be working–or attempting to work–in here through the 18th) and there won't be any time for art until everything has been moved and unpacked. Yeah, I know I've been mentioning this move for months – 'what, you mean you still haven't actually moved yet??' I can hear you saying. Well, it's been . . . complicated; let's just leave it at that. :)

Anyway, I'll be 'gone' for a few weeks, returning to post sometime in September. Have a great rest-of-the-summer, all you fine people who check here now and again! I leave you with a few things I did in the recent past which I had forgotten about until I started sorting through things . . . the top one is a sig for gaming forums; the second one is a logo I designed for the popular UT99 Haley's Hothouse gaming servers; the last is a pinup I never quite got around to finishing.

And as always, (Please click images for larger versions.) :)

Random scribbles and a pretty girl




































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Been stuck...

...in graphic design hell for the last few weeks and will probably be there for the next few weeks. But this site had me laughing today: The Six Patron Saints of Graphic Design Go check it out!

Dolly


















Just something kinda different...

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Student for Education Directory Cover

















I'm sort of breaking my rule to post only personal art here, and not something done for a client. But I'm fairly sure they're going to choose the cover layout with photos and not the layout with this illustration, so...I guess that's my excuse.

Done in Photoshop, using a stock photo for reference.

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Not much time...

...for art at the moment, but in the meantime, you can head on over to heri's excellent blog to see the caricature he did of yours truly. :)

Drawing Jam: Shakira


















For the jam over at the Drawing Board.

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Kiefer


















At the suggestion of a friend I tried my hand at drawing handsome Mr. Sutherland. It was a fun change of subject; I don't often draw tv stars....but we've been barreling through "24" season-by-season on DVD the past few weeks to de-stress at the end of the day, and, after studying his face for all those hours, I felt like I knew his pudgy cheeks and extra-large earlobes pretty well...

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Something old


















Found this while sorting through old art. At the time I was intrigued by King Richard III, after seeing Laurence Olivier in the film based on the play. I did dozens of drawings of him; I think this is the only one I kept.

Aaargh!

















You know what happens when you don't draw for a few weeks? You start thinking you can't draw anymore. A few days ago I just scribbled something and added some watercolor...just to do something.

Oh well, just trying to get back into the blogging groove...

Sorry...

To the half dozen people who regularly check this blog (I love you guys!! Heh heh): my apologies for the lack of anything new for several days now. Because of activities related to moving both household and business in the next 6 weeks I've had to put art stuff aside for the moment--arrrggh.

I'm hoping things settle a bit by the end of the weekend so I can get back to it. In the meantime, thanks to every person who has taken the time to comment! It's tremendously motivating and gratifying, and I really appreciate it. :)

Illustration Friday: Portrait (part 2)
















I did several pencil drawings of this model using photo reference; combined three for another entry for Illustration Friday. I'm trying to get more comfortable using a graphite stick and her long, dark hair was the perfect feature to practice on.

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Illustration Friday: Portrait


















Is there any kind of portrait more difficult to do than a self portrait? So challenging to separate your ego from the depiction of your own face. I gave it a try, and had a lot of fun with it. :)

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Nude
















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