Omashu

Really immense project- my first stab at a cityscape.  Inspired by city "Omashu" in the Avatar cartoon.

Camping

I went camping on the Olympic Peninsula (which I insist on spelling Penninsula) recently and sketched a whole lot!  It was a really beautiful trip, complete with rare Washington sunshine.  Some very loose sketches of the trip can be found on a sideblog I have here, where I post daily environment doodles.  This is the most recent; I feel like I'm only now starting to scratch the surface of trees.  Sketching in the actual sunshine really helps (go figure, I know) though this one is more overcast.

Inspiration vs. Imitation

So I just finished the fourth piece in my inspired-by-Avatar war against the trials of Environmental Art, and it turned out much different from the episode of the show I was working with.  I realized that I ultimately like the picture because of what I added to the idea, as well as the associations attached to the inspiration.  I still consider these "fan art" because.. I'm a fan, and they're art, but at the same time I feel very confident when I call them my own.  I was actually worried for a little while during the process that I was going to disappoint someone, like "That hill is totally NOT like that in the show!" but then I realized how ridiculous that is.  Landscape art, like any other type of art, seems to be about immersion and believability, period.  It all kind of makes me feel bad for wailing about how Alice Cullen's hair was not the precise shade of black that it was supposed to be oh god.

Anyway, some shots!  You can see how I ran with one idea and then literally turned it on its head in a pique of frustration.

Alanna

Inspired by Tamora Pierce's "Lioness" quartet, this to me was basically about learning new ways to paint metal and my rekindled love for Pre-Raphaelite faces.  And hipcoins.

But seriously, it's a great book series.

Air Temple

Step-by-step stages of my newest "Avatar"-inspired landscape.  This one was really challenging and I'm not totally pleased with it, but I definitely learned a lot from experimenting with brushes and composition ideas and such.

  

    

New Processeses..ees

Spontaneous update!  First, a finished collaboration I colored for.  Second is my current project, which I'm working on mostly in Painter after going through about eight different composition ideas.  Last is another work in progress done in a sort of experimental way- more incorporation of drawing and reference, as you can see by the random hand photograph hanging out there.  

New projects

When I started GuildWars2 I was really excited about drawing new characters, but I've actually shelved game commissions for what I think will be a long time.  I'm really starting to enjoy environmental art, even though it reminds me of when I first started to draw and absolutely everything seemed impossible.  I guess I like a good challenge.  My trees are still sloppy and composition still eludes me nine times out of ten, BUT, I enjoy it all.

I'm also starting to doodle out the first tentative design ideas for a project that I've been outlining since the year began.  I think of these graphic novel ideas all the time and inevitably scrap them, but I think this one's the lightbulb that works.  I hashed out the two main characters, but right now there are at least eleven.  So more soon!

Oh, and I've also started messing around with watercolors.  SO hard.

Listening to: Too Afraid to Love by The Black Keys

Reading: A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

Watching:  Strip Search on Penny Arcade

Looking at: Craig Mullins

Forest

This has been my biggest landscape drawing so far!  They are hard.  Props to... pretty much all environmental artists ever. Loosely inspired by Gunnerkrigg Court but really just an experiment in pushing my drawing further.

Pre-work Doodle

I am trying to squeeze more sketching time into the mornings.  I'm working on a big landscape experiment, and got this one out in the half-hour between that and leaving for work.  I remember hearing a tip recently that it can help to start out a drawing session with working on the things that are most finished, and ending with a completely new sketch.  It helps to keep discouragement at bay.

Guild Wars 2 International Fan-Art Contest

It's a mouthful to say, but basically a really fun chance to start drawing some GuildWars2 art.  The game is so drenched in artsy awesomeness that it's impossible for me NOT to love.  This is the original contest: Pantheon.

I saved some progress screenies before the final picture! Because they're cute.

Experimenting

I have been experimenting more with environmental drawing; not gonna lie it is very fun, though also much much more difficult than I had been prepared for.  There are also some figurative sketches here inspired by different games.

Weddingk'

I rarely do commissions, but I couldn't NOT try this one.  Done for a friend in commemoration of her recent wedding, just in time for Christmas.  I'm HOPING it prints well.

Hipcoins!

Finished up a drawing for a friend that has taken me WAY too long, but!  I really like it.  I'm checking things off of the Unfinished list, really looking forward to getting on with new projects in 2013.

Dryad

Some digital painting/environmental practice, inspired by a superawesome friend!

Things to practice more of!  Trees rocks clouds sky! grass people lighting.  eesh.

Update!

Sketchin': Just a bit of work with photoshop, trying to hammer out different ways to color.

I am going to Vancouver this month!  Tom Scholes is giving a talk on digital art techniques, and I'm making a trip out of it.  

LinkyLink

Portraits

Just finished up this trio of portraits for some friends' characters in the game Everquest 2; they were a TON of fun.  Vaguely medieval pinup-y in my mind.  I may have also gone a bit overboard with the splattery texture.  I've included a few work-in-progress screenshots just for posterity's sake! I'm excited to be wrapping up these character portraits, soon I plan on buckling down and returning to environments... and modeling, and cartoons..  basically a whole lot of new stuff coming up.  I'm still taking time off of Facebook, which I guess is the modern equivalent of becoming a crazy hermit.  It'll be cool to see what sort've art I'll be  posting there a year from now.

Lux

Some new stuff coming up before the month is over.

Catch-up

Before and after pieces are always fun and disturbing.  Here is my first EVER tablet drawing and my latest tablet drawing, with about seven years in between.  I've been working on drawing for almost a decade now, it's pretty surreal.

Booky inspiration

I took a short trip to Montana and spent almost the whole time a) staring at mountains and b) reading "The Mists of Avalon" which I had to leave behind and therefore must find in Seattle as soon as possible.

This is loosely inspired by that.  I am having a ton of fun trying to learn environmental drawing.

Avatar

I've decided to take a year off from Facebook and really focus on drawing.  I realize that social networking is really important to artists these days, but I figure a year off isn't going to hurt me much at this point.

Tonight's drawing is the start of a big series based on Avatar: The Last Airbender.