Fanart Friday: Dorothy of Oz

John R. Neill's Oz illustrations may be the reason I ever started drawing. I've long since lost the urge to imitate his style- it's gorgeous, but it's not mine-- but he's with Arthur Rackham as one of the greats in my heart.


The original Dorothy was so much cooler -- cool as in competent, confident, self-possessed-- than any of her later updates. And she was all of nine. I'm 33 and I still want to be as great Dorothy when I grow up.

I also want to ride a giant lion.

Both of these are equally likely. But at least I can paint a giant lion, and that's also fun.

Monstergirls, day 1 and 2

Some sketches prompted by this list: Day 1:

I like the centaurs best, but everyone else has other opinions! Which is pretty ok, it's nice to be told that sketches I did not like have love somewhere. Snakegirls deserve affection too! Note that the one barely-worked sketch is 'slime'. What's a slimegirl look like?!? Isn't a definitive property of slime that it is amorphous? So many questions! Day 2:

Things that made me deeply uncomfortable about today's list: It called for a succubus. I don't wanna draw sexpot women! That is nothing I'm interested in! Also the idea of sexy women as monsters squicks me out!So I took the Castle Falkenstein notion of Succubi- that they're not actually attractive, but energy feeding fae that make people THINK they're attractive, and they themselves only have a warped idea of what features should be hot, so they're really pretty oogy. Oogy monsters are ok. And yeah, the idea of demon-as-businessperson is not new. When business stops hoggin' all the demontude it'll stop being a popular conceit. Mine has a crab leg! So there's that. No qualms at all about my octogals or my spiderling. I would happily draw variants on that theme all day. Mycota came out pretty well too I guess. I love you, non-sexualized creations! Wave your manyhued limbs in the air! or the water! Whatever!

Dailyish Sketch: Mother Nature

...I'm a little confused that I drew this.But I said I'd post my sketches here! I didn't say "if they were nice"!
Uh...Wow, it's kind of grim, for me, isn't it? But I was working off the prompt "Mother Nature", so: beetle wings/shell, earth tones (specifically ochres) on the body, and of course red on the hands and mouth, because yes, she surely is red in tooth and paw.
That's a little wee vertebrate fetus thing, for those wondering.

Trying Out a New Tablet: The Yiynova DP10 Digitalizer Display

For various reasons, I don't always have my Cintiq, and I wanted a backup tablet. But a Cintiq is so far out of my price range*  On the advice of several other artists, I went for the Yiynova DP10.
And...it made me despair. I could not, for love nor money, get the thing working. Uploaded new drivers, nothin'. Checked my plugins, nothin'. Pray to the gods of technical endeavor, nothin'. I gave up and told the Yiynova support email that I was giving up and sending back the tablet.
And they CALLED ME, and actually walked me through the setup process. It's kind of weird! And it turns out that my favorite way of operating (Mirrored screens) just isn't an option. And, to be honest, tech support between someone as hopelessly monolingual as me and someone for whom English is a distant second language is tricky and frustrating for both parties. But! They were very polite and professional, and my tablet works! Bwahaha! It's aliiiive!

So here's the first quick sketch I did with it:

Using Painter. Quick review, based on admittedly little experience:
It's not as good at pressure sensitivity or color representation as the Cintiq. But it's not BAD, either. The Cintiq is industry pro for a reason, not being quite that good still leaves a lot room to be quite nice. There's a lot of play in the sensitivity of the pen, too; I don't doubt, as I play with the pen and settings, I'll get more sensitivity out of it.  The color, well...I think I can adapt, once I'm used to the Yiynova's particular representations.

The pen is awesomely light and easy to hold. I say this as an arthritic person with fingers prone to hyperextension. I could play with this thing all day. I may get a gel wrap for it or something, because it is just flat plastic, but still. Very nice.

The tablet is also very VERY light. Lighter than my travelin' sketchbook. Sweetness. if I were traveling (and had a laptop that could run Painter or Photoshop) I would actually be able to take the Yiynova, and the price range means I wouldn't be losing a second mortgage if it got broken or stolen. So that's nice. 

Not so sweetness: Can't quite prop the tablet up at a useful angle with the given support. But that's what my laptop tablet's for! I prop  up everything on pillows and stuff anyway. But not everyone does, so, be aware- at certain angles the tablet loses some visibility.

The double USB hub hookup means I can't be online and drawing, which is problematic, although perhaps also beneficial. You'd say 'just attach a USB hub, Cara!" but that's not workable for me for the technical reason of not having an extra USB hookup for the hub. >_> This won't be a problem for everyone! But it's my review, so there.

OVERALL:
I'm not ready to forswear my Cintiq-- but I am embracing the Yiynova. I wouldn't quite want to rely on it for finished works yet, especially color ones.  And setup really was a counterintuitive bear. But despite its limitations, the Yiynova's pretty nice. The customer support is exceptionally active and dedicated. The tablet's quite pretty and the buttons are easy to use.  It's light, doesn't run hot, and I think the feel and design of it actually encourage sketching and studies in a way the Cintiq doesn't.
That's probably the best way to think of it, actually- a digital plein air sketchbook as opposed to a full painter's studio. Fewer colors to hand, not quite the control over lighting, but light, comfortable, and still offering a lot of options for someone who's ready to take them.

And cheaper. Oh my gosh. So much cheaper.

So yes, if you've been drooling over a Cintiq but aren't in a position to sell any vital organs, give Panda City and the Yiynova a try. Just be ready to use tech support!


*The existing Cintiq in our house was a gift. One HECK of a gift. Like, the next step up is a vehicle, and a new one at that.

Summertime Triple Sketch Party!

My most devoted fan (hi, Mom!) recently asked me why my blog has not been updating, and honestly it's because I find myself wordless these days. That, and a  constant inability to feel like I've quiiiite finished any of my pieces, has pretty much caltropped  both this blog and my Etsy shop.

But I can still post sketches, I suppose! So here: have a small bug explaining the intricacies of my back yard, and a bunch of ferrets making hats.

Critique call- watercolor witches!

Hey there, ye few and proud who actually still comment on blogs.

A few nights ago I got all hopped up on cocoa and went on a serious watercolor bender and made a  donkeycart of paintings. Well. I sort of half-made a donkeycart of paintings. One of the unfortunate effects of paint is that it takes time to draw and by the time it's ready for the next step that fickle jerk Inspiration is partying with someone else (or possibly in a coma, Inspiration never explains its own absconsion) and I end up staring at half-finished pieces that I almost, but don't quite, know how to finish.

So hey, all comments and suggestions welcome! And if nothing else, perhaps shaming myself by posting this horribly unfinished stuff will get me back in the studio on this fine sunny day.

Oh man, I need to fix that hand. A LOT. Fortunately watercolor will let me do that. Aside from that, though-ideas?

Fire and Smoke

Well, I was all raring to get home from Animefest in Dallas and get to work last week.

Yeah, that didn't happen. Not the work; the getting home. Instead I spent last week in various familial and friend-based emergency accommodations, frantically refreshing the local Weather Underground map and looking to see if my home had burned down.

For those who aren't in Texas and may not have been following the news, or known where to look for it: This is why I had to evacuate. My home is downwind of this:

http://2coolfishing.net/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=367416

http://www.kutnews.org/post/view-bastrop-fire-space

and of several smaller fires.

My home now is safe, thanks again and always to the incredible work of volunteers fire workers and-frankly- some decent land management from old-timers around here who still know the right way to firebreak their property. I'm settling back in and bustling around tidying up and cringing every time I smell that sweet hit of woodsmoke that usually means barbecue and winter and good times. Right now, it means someone's life is burning.

Meanwhile, I'm ok. I'm unspeakably and undeservedly ok, and my house is ok, and I'm even beginning to think it may stay that way. I may be delayed in my studio work, because I have some housework to catch up on, and that is more than ok; that is fantastic. I have never loved dishes so much.

I'd like to offer some spine-strengthening fire safety tips or something,so people can take action and feel empowered. But in fact there's very little that laughs in the face of human preparedness like a raging wildfire. Always have a go-bag ready, support your local fire department, and if the day comes that news says go, just GO. There's not much else to be done, unless you're a firefighter yourself; and if you are, my most sincere thanks.

Animefest: WIP and Whoosh Away

Hello, blogworld! Did you miss me? I've missed you. Alas and alack, health issues have kept me pretty well sidelined this summer. I'm not quite out of the world yet, though! I'm heading out the door to a convention tonight, and when I get back, we'll have a nice big postfeast, all right?


Meantime, look! Stuff I've been working on! I'm not quite satisfied with where these pictures are now, but maybe seeing them on screen, or even getting some feedback, will help?

Art Practice: Foxy

I've been in a weird spot, artwise, for the last year or so. I'm working constantly, because I keep seeing these fantastic techniques I want to try, and I feel like I'm thiiiiis close to understanding the first thing about color theory, and of course I'm still trying to train my right hand up with animal sketches (though I haven't posted those in a while, the work continues!)

But all this attempted improvement is seriously slowing down production! So one of the new things I'm trying is a faster coloring method taking blatant advantage of the fact that, hey, I have a new computer and it can do things!

My idea of "quick" turns out to suddenly be "four hours of work", but that's because I felt the inexplicable need to make a fancy new drawing instead of something basic. You see my production problem!

Anyway!

I like the look; I'm gonna mess around a little more with basic line art and fix the obvious spilled colors, but I think this one might actually grow into a real piece one day!

What do you think, blogcomments? How often do you change up your work technique? Do you thing it's worth the hassle? Is there even a choice?

Return of Son of Sketches of the Week!

Does anyone still come to this thing?

I have been horribly negligent in my blog maintenance. I know this. I regret to say I will probably continue to be pretty awful about it. The craziness of the summer season plus the need to, y'know, actually MAKE SOME ART to share has kind of commandeered my time. If anyone wants to chat, I'm generally over on Twitter!

But if people want to look at my pictures, they can still come here! Check it out:

I've found a lovely group that provides really fun sketch prompts, so at least I should be back in the swing of that for a while. And some of those might become real pictures! You never know.

Also! I am working on a Super Secret Project. Don't want to jinx it, but maybe Monday there will be some hint.

Kinkajou and A Kangaroo (rat)

Out of all the beasties I've drawn, this couplet really shows the least distinction between my left and right side. Like, eerily little distinction. If only every pic I set out to draw was like that, I'd no longer have to fear my constantly self-destructing left shoulder.

I must say I am seriously disappointed in The Book of Mammals for giving so little time or attention to the Kangaroo Rat. I'm generally not a fan of verminbeasts, but Kangaroo Rats are pretty awesome. Look at those tails! Or rather, look at THAT tail, since the book only gave me one lousy KR picture. Feh and weeping.

But I'll forgive it for all the awesome Kinkajou action. You can't say Kinkajou and be unhappy, that's a Science Fact. Try it.
Also an (actual) Science Fact: Kinkajous can turn their feet backward to climb down trees! If you could read my notes, you'd know that already! But since I have artistic handwriting (it's not bad, it's an interpretive rendition!), you probably did not.

Share a weird fact with me in the comments!

Koalas Make the Derpiest Faces

Seriously. Every koala pic in the book has an expression that can only be described as "derp".

Except for one, who appears to be laughing boorishly at an awful joke.

An unfortunate fact about koalas: they are very hard to draw without making them turn into Fozzie Bear.There's a certain inherent puppety felt nature to those padded cheeks and floofy ears. I would try to overcome it, and express the true savage beastial nature of the dropbear, but..nah. That pretty much IS their nature, really.

One thing I find interesting as I go on this project: my right hand, while clearly weaker and less practiced than my left, is also clearly still MY hand. My essential style doesn't seem to change much. But the way I look at my references changes a lot from hand to hand; I have very little urge to cartoon or compose, working right handed, but I do have a more conscious awareness of light and basic shape. Not expected, but interesting...

Sketcherie: Lemurs!

At first I thought, hey, I'll post up my mammalian sketches every day! Then I realized that (a)that would get really tedious, and (b) that would end up with all you poor following folk seeing things like The Day of the Lemmings. To summarize what I learned from drawing lemmings:

Lemmings are really, really boring to draw.

Seriously they're just little circles with dots for eyes. I was bored like a softwood pine under a devastating beetle onslaught. Did I mention I make myself draw every creature for thirty minutes apiece with either hand? Because I do! A solid hour of fuzzballs, ugh.

But see, you don't have to see or hear about that (the above rant was only a sample of my boredom-induced ravings. Trust me, I COULD GO ON.) thanks to the power of procrastination planning! Planning and saving material! Yes!

Instead, here are several pages of lemurs, some of the most fantastically fun and drawable creatures on Earth.

One thing that's really baffling me so far is how to draw the distinction between fur-texture and shading in a grayscale media. One of these lemurs especially had some serious fur ruffles on its limbs- but trying to draw that in, it looks like he's just striped. Fur-portraying advice, anyone?

Hiatus? What Hiatus?

I haven't been slacking! I've been sketching! Look, some kangaroos. Drawn right AND left handed.  Because I WILL get the full benefit of my ambidexterity, consarn it.

Why kangaroos? Why two pages of kangaroos, not to mention the painting drying in my studio? Well...


I have never drawn a really good tiger.

This may not seem like a terribly important fact. Rarely does the fate of the world depend on an immediate skillful rendition of tigerhood. But I really WANT to draw a good tiger. Tigers haunt my migraine auras. They chase me in dreams (where they like lollipops and where vests) and are unspeakably gorgeous in real life, and I routinely get ideas for tiger-based pictures.

That I don't draw. Nor do I draw the random ideas for pictures based on llamas, elephants, harp seals, koati or zebu cattle. I don't draw these things because I can't draw them, and I can't draw them because I don't draw them. Not only am I a Hack*, I am A Hack of Very Little Experience. And this is not entirely my fault- I've had other things to occupy my time in this particular go 'round on the Life board-- but of all the things that interfere with my Arting Fun Times, a lack of drawing experience is the only one I can definitely alter.

At least with the help of good photo reference.

Hence my great glee at finding the National Geographic Book of Mammals in the clearance bin at the local Cheapo Bookstore. As far as I can tell, it exists for no other purpose than to give Hacks a great slab o' photo reference. So I'm planning to spend the year drawing my way from kangaroos to zebras, a new beastie every day. Maybe I'll get some finished pieces out of the deal, maybe not. But at least, when I next want to draw a Koatimundi, I'll have a basic idea of where to begin.

Oh.

And if it takes the rest of the year, I will draw a really GOOD tiger.


* I am a hack, oh yes I am, never doubt it or challenge me on that. But the Talent Rant is for another day.

Happy Anniversary To Meeee!

I've made my Monday art post, because it's been a while. But the important thing today is not, for once, how brilliant and creative and dramatic I am (nod, people. I need affirmation).

The important thing about today is that it is, against remarkable odds, my thirteenth wedding anniversary! Holy Cats!

Cats are the right thing to swear by, actually- I was never the little girl who played wedding or dreamed about Prince Charming. I had extensive plans to go to art school, become a neurochemistsurgeongineer  with superpowers (comics say it's possible, kids!) and then eventually retire from my life of brilliant crime fighting to make immortal works of art in a house with like 85 cats, which I would deploy as my feline deputies around the city when old age made me too limited to fight anymore.

You can see how I thought I'd  be too busy for romance.

But then some lunatic jumped in front of my car, and there went all my careful plans.

In retrospect, the superhuman crimefighter plan would have been a lot easier, but I'm glad I stuck with the fella. I hate cleaning litterboxes, I look lousy in spandex...and after thirteen years he still makes me grin when I think about him.

So. I'm going to be stepping away from the computer now. See everyone later this week!

Monday Sketchplosion: I Only Rant At What I Love

Well, it's been a while- and since I never did get enough votes to break the last tie, I went for the ladies of fate, who've  somehow decided they wanted to be all mid-20th C popart at me. Not what I was expecting, so it's taking longer than I wanted.I don't know what prompted that at all.


I DO know what prompted this week's sketchplosion. Much as I love fantasy art, there is a distressing prevalence therein of Skinny Pretty People. Sometimes they have wings, or pointed ears. But overwhelmingly, they are skinny, they are mostly generically European, (or sometimes Irish), clearly intended to be attractive, and they are usually wearing some sort of Renfaire clothing.

And none of these things is bad in of itself- I like Renfaire clothing! I am people! Some of my best friends are skinny! And I have drawn my share of  pretty skinny engarbed  pics. But altogether at a lump it makes fantasy art seem ironically unimaginative.

Well, I'm taking a stand- or rather a sit, I don't stand- against this invasion of standard forms! Down with the Pretty People! Back to the Faire Folk! I want fantasy art that makes me jump at shadows and study treebark faces and wonder about the artist's ability to conduct their own affairs in public! And if I have to make it myself, then that's just how it's gotta be. Though it probably won't help my credit score.

So, here's what's eating my brain right now:

No need to vote on these, I'm making them all in time, though I will be making some changes.That basking frogthing needs to different colors, just to name one obvious problem. None of those changes will involve fancy costumes though. I have quite enough of that happening on another project, one which I'm hoping to wrap up...soon. Maybe this month! How exciting!

Tyrsday: Happy Bat and Presumptuous Frog

Some animals this time! And color!

This happy freetail bat is from the cover of Texas Co-Op Magazine, a great local mag for, well, customers of Texas electrical Co-ops. That's a cooperatively owned utility (or business, or what have you) if you don't know-- like owning stock in a company, we all own a part of our electric company! And if they do well during the year, we get money back from our utility bill. Wooo! We love our Co-op company!

Also, pictures of happy bats!

The Mexican freetail bat is kind of a ginormous Thing here,but apparently some people don't like bats! All I can figure is those people are poops. Look at that smiley face! That's not even artistic license, it's totally grooving! Freetails eat their weight in bugs, serve as major crop pollinators, and make adorable chirpy sounds at night. I like to watch them doing acrobatics out around our security light in the summer, picking off the bugs that would otherwise be noshing me to the bone. Go, bats!

Also, a rather smug frog. Frogs always look either smug or panicked.

Tyrsday 2: Thoughts and performers

Most of the sketches I've been doing right-handed have been from photos. I have a collection of wonderful magazines like National Geographic, Smithsonian, Scientific American- all with excellent and inspiring photos. And while it would of course be utterly tack to try and steal use of the photos for gain, I don't think something like this:

is going to be taking food out of a photographer's mouth any time soon.

These two were taken from an article on Mexico; photos of a luchador wrapping his muscles and a musician waiting to play. I don't think either of these proud performers would care that a weak-wrist artist in Texas was inspired by their angles, but: Thanks, guys! You've been a big help!

It's been a long time since I did this much sketching-from-reference, actually, and that's a failing on my part. There's a danger in the sort of illustrative/stylized work I do of forgetting the basics. It's like spending so much time on a trampoline that you can't stand on solid ground. So it's good to reconnect. More than that, though, I feel like all this right-handed practice (believe me, I'm only showing a tiny sliver of it here) is teaching my brain forms in a way I haven't grasped before. I can feel the way I think about drawing changing.

Mind you, all of this awesome new learning is actually making my work in the moment kind of horrible. But that's a topic for another day...

Monday Sketchsplosion

IIIII'm Back! Whoo!

Sorry to be so long on this-especially as I've really wanted everyone's advice! But as I explained in my last post, sometimes it's unavoidable. You still love me, right, internet?

Being flattened by my own brainpan does tend to decrease my productivity-- but I still finished the most requested sketch from the last sketchplosion! Unfortunately, she sort of turned into this very military chic lass along the way, and, well...

Fonts happened. I really like the idea of her being part of a recruitment poster- but now (a) I'm fighting the urge to make a whole series of God Brigades and (b)I am probably going to be mucking with the fonts for approximately eleventy billion years. They are a weakness of mine.

But I think I can keep wordage out of this week's sketchity choices! A couple are a little more complicated compositionally, but nothing I can't handle. Have a look:

And tell me what I should spend my head-fixed time on!

Sunday Comic: Amazing Blow Up Hedz

Sometimes I disappear, regardless of weather. When I do, I'm very sorry, folks, but this is the reason why:

It takes just forever to sweep up the headbits, get my neck to stop smoking, and get back to work.

Also, the experience of having seizures while holding a 1200 dollar piece of equipment is much to be avoided.

So what's keeping you from getting everything done? Kids? Pets? Marching bears with shark planes?