Trolls!

Untitled 1, ~22x30, Ink/water colour/pastel on paper
Female Troll



Untitled 2, ~22x30, Coloured Pencils on paper
Male Troll



Untitled 3, ~22x30, Oil Pastels on paper
Male Troll

Mirror Portrait

This is my most complex portrait to date. It was drawn during January 2010... I'd say it took about 30 hours, total. The hair alone took about 7. I drew it entirely from the mirror and shaded most of it by referencing the mirror. I used some photo references in places, such as the folds under my right arm (being right handed made it impossible to draw because they kept changing!). I actually took progress shots for this one! As usual, I apologize for the quality of my photos... Really need to do something about that. This is a graphite drawing. I was really happy with this in January, but now, not so much.












This one is from January 2008. What a difference a year can make!

School Projects: September - December 2009

I. Do not. Want to draw. Any more.

I've had enough coffee to wake the dead but my body still feels weak and hurts all over. Do corpses feel like this? I need sleep. NEED. But I have a lot of work left on this drawing... But I need a break, so--blog post. Yeah.

Since we're on the subject of not sleeping for art, today I'll upload some drawings that have costed me VAST amounts of sleep. Not that I regret it, apparently, since I'm doing it again. /bitter


Violins - Before Critique


Media, going clockwise: Pencil, coloured pencil, willow charcoal, compressed charcoal


Media, going clockwise: Oil pastels, Conte, Soft pastels, Ink

First university drawing project EVER. We had to take an object and draw it from eight different angles with eight different media. These were meant to be viewed side by side... I put a LOT of thought into the composition so I was kind of disappointed it didn't get noticed.

What to say about these--wow. I did an all nighter, and I remember I had a cold at the time. I listened to music and just drew all night. These were HARD, but looking back, I had it easy compared to what I think is hard now, hahaha. And this project was very fun. But I was nervous, so nervous...

The critique was probably my most defining moment as an artist, to date. I honestly had no confidence going into the art program. To me, having people look at my work was akin to torture. I remember shaking while sitting there, absolutely blown away by some pieces in the room. My prof took the three he thought to be most successful, and explained why. All three pieces were spectacular. He then asked us whether or not we agreed with him.

Imagine my surprise when my class agreed that MINE should be in there. We kept going back to them, too, all night. I was fucking terrified! I remember the absolute horror I felt as people talked about my piece, and explained what they liked about it. This was the first time I ever felt like my art was worth something. Made me feel rather confident, for the first time.


After the critique, I took some suggestions, and tried to fix this up some.



All I did here was fill the background in black in the upper right box.



This one changed significantly. I added backgrounds to both top squares, and changed the bottom right to collage. At this point, I vowed never to do collage again. Little did I know... Hahaha. Moving on.


Pencil and charcoal I think.

This was the second independent project from first term. We had to draw our favourite meal. I did the drawing in the dark by candle light. It's unfinished, and I don't think I'll ever touch it again. This drawing confuses the shit out of me... Let me explain why.

On critique night, I got a lot of positive feedback. My prof said there's a lot of things in here that make this drawing work, as is. He even suggested not to go back to it. I fully intended to, but a massive courseload prevented that. And, stranger yet... This got a higher mark than my violins. I couldn't understand. I still don't. He said I'd see what he sees one day. I sure hope so... I'm still confused. Hopefully I remember. Hahaha


Next up is what I thought was the epitome of artistic torture itself. That torch has since moved on to figure drawing. /gag

Metamorphosis. We had to transform one object into another. Picking objects was easy... I made a list of things I liked to draw. It's another pencil drawing. I LOVE the control I get from pencils. Even now, I'm still really into them.

p. s. I'm INSANE.


Here's the whole thing together. Bad photo, and they're small. So I took individual photos of each. I believe this took about 30 hours. Perhaps more.


4 hours on this one




Looks like Homer, I've been told ;)


I'm not very fond of this one.


This one was... difficult. Strangely. I really didn't know how to change it.



Compare this final skull to the one from September:

Seeing such a powerful level improvement makes me feel pretty confident. I'm VERY happy I decided to half-major in art. I am tempted to just do a full art major some times. And then I think of how hard figure drawing is, or this drawing I'm working on now is... Comparing these two skulls makes me positive that figure drawing will become much easier and more natural to me. I can't wait.

I love art. I love being an artist. I love the torture. I love that I can pour so many hours into my drawings and feel like I haven't wasted a moment. I love the sense of peace I get when I really fall into a drawing. I love the challenge. There is honestly nothing else I would rather be and nothing else I would rather do with my life.

More to come. LOTS more... Till then, back to work on my drawer drawing.

FF7 Contest

I am entering some art contests... Because surely, I am mad. This is the sketch of my entry for the first. It's Tifa of Final Fantasy 7. That is her piano in the background :)



click please! <3

Those Who Were Severed - Prologues

I've been wrestling with this massive story for a while.  It's a graphic novel.  I have three pending prologues and I'm not sure which I like.  They're in script form--sorry.  Behold:

[one]

MANDAH is fleeing from a burning shed, a baby in her arms.  CREVAN and his FATHER are taking shelter from the rain.  CREVAN sees the woman and runs to her.  She collapses just before reaching him.  CREVAN takes the child and MANDAH mutters "Kah-reh..."  MANDAH is dead before the FATHER reaches her, so the FATHER takes the baby as his own.

[two]

Scene opens to a small room lit by two candles.  A storm can be seen and heard through the window.

KYROS happily holds KAYRNA in the air.

KYROS (gushing): Look at her!  She's so beautiful, Mandah.

MANDAH, looking very uneasy: I suppose...

KYROS frowns and lowers KAYRNA.  He moves closer to MANDAH.

KYROS (worriedly): Mandah, what is wrong?

A crack of lightening flashes by the window as MANDAH speaks.

MANDAH, first aggressively, and then sadly: SHE (pointing toward the door) was innocent like this, once, and look at all the harm she has caused...

KYROS: You think our daughter will--

MANDAH: We have no way of knowing, Kyros.  

KYROS: But we will be raising her, my love.  We are good people.

MANDAH: Will we?  What of your wife?

KYROS: I'm...I'm trying to--

KYROS, defeated, looks away sadly.

MANDAH smiles and reaches for KAYRNA.  She holds her above her head and stares into her green eyes.

MANDAH, quietly: What will you become?

[three]

MANDAH: Tell me: what is fear, Kyros?

KYROS, frowning, looks away.  There is a long pause.

KYROS: Well, fear is--

MANDAH: I'll tell you what FEAR is.  It's your WIFE finding out about our daughter.  It's the destruction she will cause because of this single child.  It's being so uncertain for what is in her future--and not being able to see what she will become.  It's the possibility that our precious Kayrna will become just like her--just like your WIFE.

KYROS reaches for the crying MANDAH.

KYROS: Wife is just a title.  You are my love.

MANDAH: Until she executes me.

KYROS: Mandah, that--

MANDAH: Be realistic, Kyros.  We cannot hide her forever.

There is another long pause.

MANDAH, holding the baby high in the air: Oh child, what will you become...

I would looooove some feedback.  But no one knows this place exists hehehe.  Yet.  Or so I hope.