Time Lapse

Just thought I'd put in some time lapse videos to show how I work while you wait until I complete the next picture which is taking some time.

Pencil Portraits

I don't just work in digital, I've recently been sharpening my pencils as a way to get back into traditional work, which is where I want to be. A small house with messy kids doesn't help in my journey, but as they get older I find myself eyeing bedrooms as a possible studio to stick my easel (currently residing in the attic) up in.

These are drawn from colour photos from a thread at Concept Art where members post pictures of themselves for others to practice on. Each one took about six hours and over a period of a couple of weeks I like to think I improved.

The first one is Ilaekye and was interested in getting the beard right as I'd been having problems with them on other work. The picture was just an ordinary snapshot.




Next up was Stoph. Another beard, but it was from a very nice photo and I hope I did it justice.






















This TAS. He posted a huge selection of expressions for everyone. The photo was flooded with flash making it flat. I had tried a number of times over the last year to draw him in different medium, but this is the first time I think I actually caught 'him'. Or maybe I just got better.

Master Studies

I've been very naughty not updating here. I keep meaning to, but work, family life and actually doing any art sort of distracts me. Sadly my website is in the same position.

Recently, I've been doing some Master Studies to improve my digital painting technique, and I've come a long way from the previous post. I scribble a lot while painting, when everyone tells me to use broad strokes and then refine, well I sort of do in a way, but I like scribbling and I'm getting results from it and that's what counts.

This is the first one I did, the Laughing Cavalier by Hals. I painted it all on one layer to prove to myself that I could. Not so anal with the others.

I have painted this in oils, actually I painted two, for a amateur dramatic production. One had a hole cut in it so it would fit over the head of one of the cast. The other one might still be my attic and I'll try to fish it out one day.

Serif have asked to use it in their promotional material for the next upgrade. They've been good to me and I said, "Yes." They have agreed to credit me, and for a practice piece, I'm happy with that.

Next one was Sweert's Boy in a Turban holding a posy. Not quite so successful, which is a shame as I really like the painting a lot.

Done in two layers, still trying to keep it relatively simple.

Next was a Bouguereau picture of a Shepherdess. I actually enjoyed doing this one a lot. Three layers to start with but became two quite quickly.

Then came the Ingres. This picture was made in hell. I didn't get the expression right, the dress was done about five time before I was reasonably happy with it. He is so precise in his placement which doesn't go down well a scribbler like me.

A classical statue. I first tried to do this with DrawPlus and their nice brushes, but I kept crashing the program due to my rapid scribbling. I like to overlay colour on colour to build up depth.

Water Nymph by Perrault. Totally suited to my method of working. I did this one more to learn to paint flesh. I still have a lot to learn.

Just for fun I thought I'd do a Titian. Didn't finish it as I'd learnt what I wanted from it and parts of the picture are so dark it is difficult to discern what the original colour was.

And finally Godward, another precise painter, so I took liberties with the finish. I could have spent days working on it, but that is not the point of doing Master Studies. Learning what I needed for that look and finding out where it fitted best into my method of working was and still is a voyage of discovery.

I enjoyed painting most of these and will probably do some more in the future. I learnt tons and will continue to learn as that's the only way to go forward.

Gosh! I haven't been here much. I haven't been working on my animation much as I've trying to improve my drawing skills.

This is from a contest held over at www.conceptart.org The title was Newborn and I did a modern version of The Birth of Venus. The feet leave a lot to be desired and the face lacks form. Not every entry was considered to be up to a professional standard and a number were cut. In the public vote I managed 7 votes, which wasn't bad considering that some pictures didn't get any votes. I knew I wouldn't win, but it was trying the hardest I could at the time and pushing myself. Also I learnt a new program - Serif PhotoPlus X2, which is similar to PhotoShop, but a heck of a lot cheaper. Mine was free due to the power of broccoli.


The I went and entered Battle of the Sexes Part II. This wasn't such a success as my last one, as I thought I had another week. The whole contest wasn't that brilliant as so many people dropped out and failed to complete. Title is A Good Day to Die. My mum posed for me, bless her.


Currently, I'm still working at improving my art skills, but will be returning to the animation soon.

Crowd Scenes

I've been using Google Street View as reference for my background people. It's great as you can see the natural forms of people as they go about their daily lives. Luckily for me I was already using people with blank faces.

Still not posting much these days. Most of Feb was taken up with The Battle of the Sexes over on conceptart.org. Us girls were given the title"Brotherhood". I probably spent 30 plus hours on it. It might be as far as I can push vector drawing. I'm just chuffed to bits that I made the final at my first attempt as I'm up against some great stuff.

Time to update my infrequent blog.

The Broccoli in my previous post won this month’s Serif competition. I’ll be getting their Photo Plus X2, which is bit like Photoshop. I really enjoy using DrawPlus as everything is laid out in a logical manner and I hardly ever have to consult the manual.

Been messing about with Cam Studio and doing performance art!







And here’s a wooden eggcup.