MerMay Kick-... erm... Flip-Off? (D & J)

That just doesn't sound right.  And I guess mermaids do kick...  But oh well.  Apparently #MerMay is a thing (and also #MermaidMonday?), so J and I did a few mermaid Sunday Sketches last week to celebrate.  It was fun!  Here are mine:

And now, back from a little hiatus, I'm happy to welcome back J, who had this to say: "er mer gersh merberbers".

And look at that, they're (respectively) in pen and pencil!

Draw It Again!

For my June pencil drawing, I decided to revisit some familiar territory.  Back in 2002, I spent most of Black Friday drawing this portrait of Boromir on giant paper.  Look at this slightly blurry, partial photo of it:

Obviously this was back in the day when I 1) drew on giant paper and 2) could do a whole giant drawing in one day.  Now I am slower and smaller and...better?  Well, I thought another Boromir portrait would turn out AMAZING by comparison and in the end he just turned out okay:

When I finished, I realized that he looked like cartoon Boromir.  His face is off, and I think I COULD fix it, but with pencil there's always the risk of ruining it, especially since my paper doesn't erase very well.  So...this is where my Boromir drawing skills will stand, for possibly another twelve years (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). 

I do like how his clothing turned out and it's always fun doing LOTR characters.  Maybe some more will pop up before the end of the year.  Maybe even some...Thorin...?  MAYBE.

Sunday Sketches: Recent Reads

A while ago, I read some books that I liked--The Scorpio Races and A Company of Swans.  So I drew the main characters from each. I also drew some water horses, in the only way I can draw horses...

Puck Connolly and Sean Kendrick from The Scorpio Races on the left.  I could picture Puck pretty clearly, but Sean was a little more nondescript for me.  On the right is Harriet and Rom from A Company of Swans.  Again, I could picture her clearly, but I couldn't really remember what Rom looked like after the fact--you know, aside from good looking.  Is it wrong that I like the horses best?

...

Hello, D here.  I've been reading through the source material for the Disney animated films chronologically, which of course led to doing sketches of my own designs of the well-known characters (cleverly termed "Disney Un-Disneyed').  Though I haven't found the chance to post some of these sketches until now, I thought this would be a good time to share a couple recent ones based on some classic literature, drawn around the same time as J's book-based sketches above.

The Wart (rhymes with Art, short for Arthur), from T. H. White's The Sword In the Stone, The Once and Future King

Mowgli from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, The Second Jungle Book

I'm liking how this series is turning out, I'll have to post more.  The fairy tale ones especially have been fun to try to re-envision.

Turtle Power!

As I mentioned last time, my monthly pencil project for May was a sizable undertaking.  But let's back up to my thought process:

There's a new Ninja Turtles movie coming out.  I'm sure I will see it (because how could I not), but based on, well, pretty much everything about it, I'm not too optimistic about how good it will be.  *single tear*  So I thought to myself, that new movie comes out in May and in retaliation, I will bust out a big TMNT drawing, like the days of ye olde 2007.  

But guess what!  The new movie doesn't come out until August.  Oops.  So...this is my preemptive strike?

I totally underestimated how long this would take.  In the end it was upwards of 20 hours, four different drawings and a lot of Photoshop pasting together.  A bit of a time investment, but it was a fun project.  Michelangelo and Leonardo turned out the best, I think.  And poor Raphael.  For being my favorite he doesn't ever seem to turn out as good as I hope for.

(Seriously though...the new movie looks bad.  Am I right or am I right?)

Monthly Pencils

At the start of the year I made a goal to draw a pencil portrait each month.  Nothing fancy, just something quick to practice my skillz.  I'm glad I've followed through because besides this project I have had the BIGGEST art block in the world and these are basically all I've drawn all year.  Lame. O.o 

Anyway, here is where I'm at so far:

January was Katniss.  I have to make an effort to draw the ladies.  I like how this one turned out, especially since it's a more quirky angle of her face.

In February I returned to Harry Potter fanarts with Sirius.  I still don't think the resemblance is quite there, but I like how this one turned out.  I wasn't so sure in the middle of it, but yeah.  High fives, Sirius.

In March it was Obi Wan's turn.  I think my brother asked me to draw this picture about ten years ago.  Better late than never?

Starbuck popped up in April (or maybe the start of May...).  For how much I love Battlestar, I draw it very little.  I also kind of phoned in her uniform.  All those lines!  Wahhh.

For May I've been working on something BIG!  Literally big because it's on three separate pages right now and there will be a fourth before I'm done.  More on that to come!

A Baby For the Drawing (D & J)

We have this baby, and he is a delight.  As for myself I don't think I draw him nearly as much or as often as he deserves, but the time had finally come to immortalize him at this stage in the way that only a digital portrait can.  So here it is, The Boy, happy as can be, at approximately 8 months:

And now, a word from the mother of this child:

I must confess that I also do not draw this baby as much as I should.  Of course there are lots of things I think I should ("should") be doing, but this is one thing I REALLY think I should do more.  As for cleaning the baseboards, well, I'll let those wait.  Anyway, I recently colored up a little doodle from a while ago.  Sometimes when he is asleep he lays on the boppy pillow like this, with his legs scrunched up and his bum out and his hands by his face.  It's one of my very, very favorite things that he does, and it will be a sad day when he grows out of it.  Baby proportions are still a tricky business, but I like how this one turned out. 

But at least now I've made record of it!  Also, I love these jammies.  Claws on the toes??  Come on.

Pushing Daisies At Last (D and J)

About half a year ago we were ever so glad to introduce our offspring to the world.  As is often the case with newborns, we had a lot of downtime during which to watch a lot of TV shows and movies.  After a few recommendations, we decided to watch the sadly short-lived Pushing Daisies, which we enjoyed very much.  Then, these naturally happened, though for some reason they have not seen the internet-light of day until now (don't ask me why, it's been sitting on my desktop waiting to be posted for over three months).  So, here are our sketchbook tributes (which may or may not have been sketched on a Sunday) to a show that ended long before its time.

I think I could probably draw these characters a hundred times and never get bored, but for some reason I haven't drawn them since the summer.  I probably should do some more, especially since I think some of them could turn out a little better than they did here (especially Chuck, I didn't make her nearly wide-eyed or charming enough).  I love the aunts though.

And now, I turn the reins over to J to present hers:

Here's mine!

Sunday Sketches: Dolls

One of my friends from the ye olde teenager days recently published her first book, called The Dollhouse Asylum.  Naturally, I got myself a copy and read it in a few days.  And then, whilst doodling a rolling-pin-wielding knight the following Sunday the Mister suggested I draw the book's characters.  Duh!  So I did.  Later I did a quick coloring job for fun and now here they are:

I think I got some character details wrong, as I didn't have the book handy but overall they turned out how I wanted and envisioned.  T-B, L-R: Cheyenne, Marcus, Teo; Ana, Cleo and Bee.  

Congrats, Mary!  I send you an artsy high five from across the internet. 

Team Team Team Team

I even like saying the word team!*  

About two years ago I was sitting at work and I had an idea for the greatest art EVER.  And then, just this month, I finally did it!  And it IS the greatest art ever, if not as timely as it would have been back then:

It was hard to get the details of his suit right, and I certainly simplified, but I'm happy with how it turned out.  It was kind of intimidating to work on, but so satisfying to have finally followed through with my idea.  And isn't Edward Scissorhands just one of the most beautiful movies ever?  I feel kind of stupid calling things "beautiful" but that movie is and so I say it is.    
 
(It would have been so much fun to put this on a shirt and wear it to a Twilight event, but since I haven't BEEN to a Twilight event in the last two(+) years, it wouldn't have worked out anyway.)

*Name it and claim it!

Come Fly With Me (J)

One day I sat a'doodling and everything was coming out ugly.  This seems to happen a lot lately, maybe because my drawing time is more infrequent.  Anyhoo, it was kind of depressing and irritating but I tried again, as one must do with arts.  And that drawing turned out!  It turned out so well that I colored it later and was pleased as punch.

I really enjoy doing fanarts, but it is also fun to do something original.  Though maybe it's a little If-Ginny-Weasley-were-into-planes?

It's nice to know I can still do stuff with a pencil or pen or stylus, whatever the case may be. 

Family Peeps (J)

We had a baby!  I know, I know--old news.  Babies take a lot of time.  I know, I know--old news.  But seriously, they do.  Which means I don't have as much time for making arts as I used to.  I don't really mind this though, because I like that baby so much!  Even so, it was a lot of fun to pull out my beloved tablet and fiddle around in Photoshop with this little family portrait:

I'm still getting the hang of baby proportions, and he looks older than his three (almost four!) months.  Oh well!  He's cute anyway.  That bearded fellow ain't too bad either.

Hahahaha.

Babyfaces (J)

We have a baby now!  He is very cute and funny and charming.  He is also giving me cause to practice drawing babies, which I have always found difficult to draw.  The proportions of their faces can be so tricky.  I don't have a lot of drawing time these days, but here are a couple of little attempts I've made recently:

It's so hard to capture his looks and little personality in a wee pen drawing, but it's fun to keep trying. Here's to many future attempts!

An Unexpected Posting (J & D)

Once we saw the (first) movie in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit series.  Overall we liked it (not as much as his masterpiece that is The Lord of the Rings, but how could anything be as amazing as that?), and who knows if we'll like it more or less as the series goes on, but in any case, it did inspire a few more polished arts, so now we shall present them to you!  First, I'll turn the reins over to J to introduce her masterpiece.

In The Hobbit, you may recall, there is a certain villainous orc of significance called Azog.  He's big, pale and scarred and wreaks havoc periodically during the movie.  He also loses half of one arm and replaces it with a robot hand long, clawed contraption.  But I just couldn't stop thinking of a more practical thing he could stick in there: 

Surely every orc is in need of a good back scratching.  Weta is missing out on my brilliant ideas, you guys!!!!

...

Back to me!  Whatever issues I have with this movie, I think Martin Freeman is brilliant as Bilbo, and so one day he appeared in my sketchbook.  I liked the result so much that I decided to paint it, and so, here he is:

Son of Belladonna Took, Photoshop

Just for fun, here's the original sketch.  Sometimes it's worth seeing things in their rougher form too.

We'll see what happens this December with part the second! As far as we can tell from the first trailer, it features a lot of Legolas and a lot of Kate.

Holy Fanart, Batman! (D & J)

A while ago the wife of one of my animation school buddies contacted a bunch of his artist friends asking them to do an art of his favorite comic book superhero in their own style to be compiled into a book as a birthday present.  I thought it was such a great and unique gift idea, and I was very glad to participate!  Although Batman isn't historically my favorite superhero, I was a HUGE fan of the animated series in my tween years, so I channeled that for this project.

I tried a few poses and ideas, but then settled at last on my original idea, which turned out I think just how I wanted it to!  I always loved when he glided into some location all cloaked in his cape.

And now, I turn the reins over to J:

A few weeks ago I finished the same 30 Day Challenge as the Mister.  One of the prompts was “A Super Hero” and it was the perfect opportunity to bring back an old, unused idea I had while in college—Batman making a grilled cheese!

I don’t know why, but this idea makes me giggle to no end.  It’s Batman!  Making grilled cheese!  I picture him coming home after a long night of detective-ing and wanting a toasty sandwich.  It’s probably for the best that I wound up switching majors and leaving the art program—all the ideas I ever had during that year were in a similar, kind of ridiculous vein.  And, of course, there’s no place for humor in ART. 

This was kind of hastily done, but overall it turned out just how I always pictured it.  And I’m happy to say it’s an improvement on my original sketch from *cough cough* years ago.  Consider this a teaser for the rest of my 30 Days, which will be forthcoming!

Sunday Sketches: Food for the Drawing (J)

Today I drew a girl with her hair in two buns, except the buns were apples.  I don't know why this happened, but it was funny and reminded us both of an artist on deviant art who sometimes draws human incarnations of food (such as this).  So then, inspired by a few Asian meals we had this week, I started on a theme of Asian food personified.  Sometimes things just happen!

Tonight I gave them a fast coloring (whilst waiting for brownies to bake...browniesssssss) and here they are!  You can try to guess what they are and then find out the answers below.

Some of them were harder than others, but overall they were fun to think about.  And now for a brownie...

(From l-r: stir fry, sushi, egg roll, potsticker (complete with soy sauce) and sticky rice.  Sticky riiiiiiiiiiice!)

A Trio of...Princesses!

Now and then I feel like drawing a Disney princess.  Sometimes I feel like drawing three of them and making a trio of it.  The Ariel and Jasmine sketches are actually from about a year ago, then Belle came along about six months later.  Usually I only like my sketches for a few months, but I guess I still liked these--or I was too lazy to redraw them.  Either one is possible.

True story: After seeing The Little Mermaid as a wee lass, I spent several years drawing nothing but mermaids.  The best part is that it was always a back view of these mermaids, since I didn't know how to draw faces. 

Anyway, I decided for these I'd experiment with going lineless again.  I really wanted to feel more comfortable with it by the end of 2012 so I gave it another shot in the final hours.  Overall, I think Ariel turned out all right--part of this (like her hand) I really like and others (like her face) I don't so much. 

True story: Beauty and the Beast is my favorite animated Disney movie.  I tried to think of the reasons why, and then I decided there were no reasons why not.  But no, it did not start me drawing behind-views of French peasants. 

I like how Belle turned out overall.  Her face is nice, though I wish the colors had a little more oomph.  I have always had issues with being too light, no matter the medium.  It takes a lot of conscious effort on my part to push the contrast.  

True story: Aladdin is the first movie I remember seeing in the theater after we moved to Missouri.  My sister had a newspaper clipping that listed all the pop culture figures the Genie turned into, but I don't know how useful that was in a dark theater. 

I have never felt very strongly about Jasmine so I guess it's fitting I don't feel too strongly about how this turned out.  My favorite part is probably her right sleeve ("sleeve") and that bird.  Hee hee, that bird. 

True story: between finishing Ariel and doing the other two, Santa brought me a fancy pants new tablet (thanks, Santa!).  Aside from all the other fun bells and whistles, it was a jump from 512 to 2048 levels of pen pressure sensitivity.  I like to think I can tell a difference between Ariel and the others, and while I don't think any tablet gives you magical skills, I think the new tablet allows for more precision and control overall.  Anyway, it is a fun thing to work with and I've only accidentally stepped on it once.  

(The brushes for the backgrounds are located here: dandelions, birds)

Sunday Sketches -- Wife and Speck (D) (And Also J)

As was announced in the last post, J and I are expecting a wee little one next spring, which we have affectionately taken to calling The (Infamous) Speck (although it's no longer the size of a speck naturally).  J of course is (so far) doing the vast majority of the work in this endeavor, and she's working through like a champ.  A couple weeks ago marked her 20-week point, and we're pretty excited that she's made it more than halfway through (and hopefully through the majority of the pukiness...).  So to honor this most blessed halfway point, I did this little Sunday Sketch-turned-Photoshop painting.

I think she looks so great!  That bump!  And just look at her glow.

Also, as a bit of bonus content, while I was working on this sketch the other day, she did a couple of her own of her perspective on how she sometimes looks/feels these days, and she thought we should post those too, in the name of balance and "accuracy," as it were.

Our Latest Collaboration (D & J)

It was high time we worked on another project together!  This is one we've been working on for a few months now:

We are learning a lot, working in this new medium.  The little fellow will make his debut in the spring, and we look forward to teaching him to color inside the lines!  

Sunday Sketches of an Avatarly Nature (J)

We are still steadily making our way through Avatar!  Near the end of season 2 I did some drawings of all the major characters (I think).  Then we started season 3...so I need redraw half of them now, hah.  I am SO looking forward to the terrible movie adaptation and seeing just how incredibly terrible it is.  The cover box looks bad enough on its own.

Anyway, I digress.  Avatar peeps!  With the exception of Suki, I did them all without any reference at hand, hence any little inaccuracies you may find.  Overall I like how most of them turned out, and I look forward to doing an updated batch in the future.  Perhaps I will make my own picture of the Fire Lord from noodles. 

 Flameo, hotman!  (I finally get that reference!!)

A Hobbit (J)

Back in ye olde days of the past, I spent many many many hours drawing all the different characters from Lord of the Rings.  Wait, I still do that.  Anyway, I used to do it a LOT, and so with the arrival of The Hobbit, it seemed only fair to give it a little bit of the same treatment.

This was a faster drawing, done with just a mechanical pencil in my sketchbook, but he still seemed to take quite a while.  Somehow I started this without realizing his shirt is completely covered in stripes.  Let's just say it was a happy moment when I finished those stripes!  But it seems like every drawing has something in it that makes you insane--like curly hair, embroidery, sequins, what have you.  (If it features Mrs. Lovett, then it has all three of those things and then some.)

Anyway, I can't promise to follow this up with a bunch of dwarf portraits but we'll see.  I'll probably get more inspired with Legolas turns up again...