Sketchbook: Bird of Paradise

I’ve been busy elsewhere, so not as many blog posts this week. Sad trombone!

Now I’m back, and revealing original artwork for a change. As in, I took the photo, and then I drew the picture. First the photo:

Next, the pencil drawing:

Sketchbook: The Barn in the Woods

As told elsewhere on this site, I’ve been working away on a sketch turned colored pencil drawing, and at long last the reveal is here!

First, the photo I worked from:

Photo credit: Olof Senestam (FreeImages)

I started with the baseline sketch:

New Colored Pencils PLUS Another Completed Coloring Pattern

Whoa, too much for a Monday! Let me see if I can break this into bite-sized chunks.

First: I finished an actual drawing (pencil base with colored pencil finishing) but half of the files are on my home computer, and the other half are on my phone. So that story will appear tomorrow.

Second: I was pricing out colored pencils for the serious artist, and a) decided I’m not triple-digits-dollars serious, b) this is a completely unsolicited plug, but apparently Dick Blick slashes prices damn like whoa, and c) found out that Joann’s jacks their prices waaaaaay up, calling into question the “value” of their discount coupons. For example: The 120-pack of Prismacolor Premier pencils goes for about $93 at Blick, about $120 at Michaels, and $229 at Joann’s. (All the same set.)

However, I went foraging around at Joann’s anyway because 50% coupon, and found out that Spectrum Noir (of my go-to alcohol markers fame) also makes colored pencils. And! They’re actually a good value with the 50% coupon: $34.99 USD down to $19 with sales tax. Thus:

Here’s the inside of the box:

Sketchbook: Forgotten

For those of you who tune in for actual art, instead of how-to diagrams, it’s time for another “I drew this” episode, featuring my $3 sketchbook and another find by way of FreeImages. Today’s installment: “Forgotten”. (Photo credit: Ben C)

Sketchbook: RFA Lesson 2 Homework

Rapid Fire Art: The adventure continues. If you want to learn how to sketch, or learn how to improve your existing skills, click here to explore the whole site. I have no affiliation with this site other than being an enthusiastic supporter.

In our last episode, I was learning how to draw objects the Darlene Nguyen way. I went from “no way, not going to even try drawing objects” to “and, another one done” in minutes. It’s that easy! Really!

She gives homework every week, and since I just joined in I am doing the Lesson 2 homework in its entirety. I started doing it yesterday.

Today’s obstacle: Landscapes!

Original Artwork: Agnes

Well! After horsing around with various sorts of training wheels artistically, I finally did something of mine own. And before I get rolling with the pics and “making of” stories, I want to give big ups and much love to Darlene Nguyen and her fantastic site, Rapid Fire Art. I went from zero to artistic hero in the space of, mmm, 2 hours. Remember, I am fitting this in as able during my work day.

Yes, I was on the “art track” years ago (1987) and yes, I have drawn free-form portraits before. And as such, I have certain signature moves that I fall back on, whether I want to or not. So yes, they’re apparent in this sketch if you’re familiar with my prior works from back then. (Checking: So, maybe one of you? None? Fine, this is all new stuff!)

Anyway, I Googled how to draw hair using colored pencil, and found Rapid Fire Art. The tutorial made it look so easy that I whipped out my dusty and neglected sketch pad and tried it for myself. Sketch sketch sketch, add in some colored pencil action, and as they say in Texas, wa-la:

Completed: Erma Felna, EDF

I went way, way back into Old School for this one. And this is going to be one of those All About Ethan history lessons, so buckle up.

Completed: Rogue, my favorite X-Men character

Once upon a time, I had a rather large comic collection. I had nine or ten filled boxes, filed neatly, with mylar sleeves and cardboard backings. And as Marvel comics went, the X-Men was one of my favorites. And of the many(!) characters, I gravitated to Rogue. I’m not quite sure why. I think it was partly because the X-Men was an ensemble comic and they did a good job of giving her storylines and alternately relegating her to a background image.

Here she is, in full view:

Fan art provided by Phil Noto.

Completed: VF-1J Battroid

For my next finished artwork, I’m going old school once more with an original series Macross reference. Fan art supplied by this Pixiv user (I could not find an accurate translation of the artist’s name, sorry). Behold, the VF-IJ Battroid:

 

Yeah yeah, you’re wondering which one of the Transformers this is. Wrong! If memory serves, Macross pre-dates the Transformers. Another distinction is that only certain things “transform” in the context of the greater story. So nyah. (I looked it up, Macross pre-dates the Transformers by 2 years.)

I can only speak to any degree of authority regarding the Americanized version of the show that we know as Robotech. The reveal as to why their fighter jets can/need to convert into this format was quite clever.

Anyway, with regard to the artwork, I really liked the sketch but the mecha was really difficult to color effectively. Less was more, in true Anime fashion.

Completed: Spider-Gwen and Batgirl Meet the Chiropractor

As mentioned somewhere around here, I have a slush pile of designs to work on stored up on Pinterest. I normally don’t use Pinterest all that much but lately I have pity for anyone on my feed because it’s been rather one-track minded these days. Anywho… I liked the Rook Brantley fan art I colored so much that I went out looking for other fan art to “assist with”, and decided literally for no good reason to search for “Spider-Gwen“.

Background: I was at a fairly local comic store a long while back and I was flipping through the posters, just to be thorough (the store is HUGE) and I happened across one for “Spider-Gwen”, which struck me as absolutely ludicrous. I looked it up later and learned about the concept of the character, and apparently it’s actually not a bad comic, but I gave up comics after my collection got swamped in a basement flood and I didn’t want to re-trace my steps.

Anyway, had I known more about the character, I would have had an inkling that Spider-Gwen… isn’t that color-tastic.

But, for some odd reason the fan artist decided to pair her up with Batgirl, so that made for a bit of contrast: