MidWeek Post

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What's up everyone?  Finally I can post up the finished image for my Mai picture, which will just serve as a short reprieve as of this time.  I really tried to take my skills up a few notches w/ her, and imo the results were worth the headaches.  I'll also mention some other stuff too towards the end, concerning my inactivity on a few other accounts and a few decisions that are for the best.

   Yes, this is the same image that I had posted some time ago, but even I didn't foresee it being taken in this direction.  I was really just going to do w/ this one what I did w/ the Chun-Li picture, before realizing that'd be a cop-out.  I tried something bold (for me) w/ my avatar image and learned alot doing it, so it would be a crime to just rest on laurels and not do something challenging w/ this one.  Next thing I know, traces of sunlight were penetrating through the blinds in my room and hitting the computer monitor.  Normally that's annoying, but oddly enough it gave me a great idea, to try and play with lighting in a new way, hinting some form of interference.  I would have pushed for something much more, but such can be implemented in anohther picture instead, whenever I get back to inking it out :S.

    As for the water, I'm not quite so sure where the idea came from.  Maybe a thought in my head went along the lines of "she's nekkid, maybe she should be sweating some".  I looked around on Google for reference images and had to take some time to figure out how to implement what I saw, but it's actually work I did on my older Poison WIP that gave a giant boost in making it work as well as it has.  I guess for this image, I'd say she's moreso wet than sweaty; indicating the differences btwn the two (they're extremely subtle of course) will take some time, as will contouring lines of water to the body's form (in this instance a tablet would be a significant help), but for a first effort it came out bangin'.

    And of course, since it's fall I went w/ autumn-esque colors for the background ;3.

    Like I said, this was a challenging picture to attend to once I decided to implement the lighting and the water; those two aspects easily doubled the time to complete it.  Yet I have zero regrets on the matter.  I think many, MANY artists are afraid to tackle subject matter like water, because of its innate complexity.  I'm definitely no master on that, but I feel more confident in drawing and painting wet, sweaty peoople now, and wet-like items of clothing and the such.  Certainly, I'll be building on this (and what was accomplished w/ the avatar picture too) in the next few pieces, which are about on the horizon.  So I hope you all like what I was able to accomplish here..depending on how things go I might use this as a portfolio piece.

    Not to take the festive mood down a notch, but I'm also using this time to announce that I'm renigging on my CA.org and dA accounts.  It's too much to go into right now, but given the past few weeks I realize now how I work best as an artist.  I think back to when I was at my peak in terms of creating complex pieces quickly (a peak I still feel I haven't reached or surpassed just yet, but am definitely running full gear into obliterating given this pace ;), and during that time I didn't really take much to frequently seeking criticism or posting stuff up.  I just isolated myself w/ my work, and did what I felt made me happy, completing it in due time and maybe doing something w/ it from there.  Granted, I'm really hoping to become a professional freelance illustrator but I know what that has in store, and it doesn't neccessarily involve what and how I've been conducting myself online so far.

     Honestly, at this point I think it is best for me to scale back on my online networking, at least until I get myself to the level I want in terms of bulk of art and skillset.  I should also be more honest in working at a pace that's natural to me, knowing when to push, and when to kick back.  Altho I won't be having my Pro-Spec blog up until early next year, at least then, I know I'll have a hefty deal of art to publish there and a solid lock on my process.  Sorry all; I just learn best when I attend to myself in my own space, my own world, the outside inconsequential to my drive and focus.

     To that end, I'll keep my CA.org account open but won't start publishing there until January.  As for dA, my current account is maybe loaded w/ too much excess baggage, in terms of the things that have occured w/ me and others over the time since it was created, and it just isn't very professional.  I'll be deleting it completely and opening up a new account under my new screename 'fngz', also in January.  And this time it'll be strictly professional (tho just to the fanart side of things).  For the time being I'll keep up the current account and post this and a final few selection of fan pieces under that name, but from then on everything will be under the new account.

     ....Ready to pick the mood back up?  Heh, cool; here's an update to my Gally/Yoko/Alita picture:

     The perspective for the background is being shifted from what I first imagined, and the image as a whole is now a lot different from the one I was using as a mental ref from the graphic novel.  At this point her form is basically complete; I'm giving her the cape she wears in the first few volumes of Last Order, and as for that right hand?  Possibly a plasma sword.  Her left forearm meanwhile is completely gone, so I gotta make that look banged up.  I'll have to work a little less on this one as I finish up the Bilstien image over the next few days for that contest entry, but it shouldn't be too long before this one is complete.

      That's all I gotz for today.  If you're wondering about why no new sketches...yeah I'm not doing that anymore.  Sure there's still sketches being drawn, but I don't finish a lot of them, and the ones I tend to really like (like the Alita one) end up becoming full paintings anyway.  Maybe one day I'll dump the sketches to whoever, wherever but we're a shitload of time away from that happening.  Until next week, do your thing and enjoy life.  Catch 'ya l8r.

Midweek Updates

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  What's up everyone; if you didn't watch the GOP debate last night, you missed out on some good arguing.  These candidates (the majority of them) may not have any concrete answers but boy can they entertain w/ their bickering I assure you.  And Ron Paul actually got shown more face-time instances than fingers I can count on one hand, so there was some progress in any case x3.

  Also, must say I'm seeing why everyone rates Samurai Champloo so highly.  I'm four episodes in and plan to watch the rest of it about daily.  I said this already too, but, Eatman '98...underrated.  Third ep's much better and sophisticated than the starting two, so if you're that odd person who saw it way back when, just the first ep and thought "eh", I urge you to stay w/ it and wait until the 3rd to see if you feel the same way ;).

  Okay, well that's all for the small chat.  Let's get on w/..more small chat.  But this small chat has pictures w/ it too, so yay!!!

 

   I still haven't posted anything up on ConceptArt.org, but that'll be changing this Saturday, when I put these sketches-among others-to my scrapbook there.  Since I get the feeling fanart isn't liked very much around there, I'll be sticking w/ non-fanart pieces, which is just as well b/c getting any serious opportunities would come down to much more than how well one can recreate a popular pre-existing character.  These sketches are being done for various reasons; to study anatomy, to study and improve stylization, to try different body types and ethnicities, and to get back to non-human stuff.  B/c I love backgrounds and props and scenery as much as the human body and regard them as highly in terms of a good finished piece that emphasizes any amount of scenic composition.

  The plan is to keep doing these sketches for an hour or two everyday or every two days; I just wanted to have an ample number of them for when I post to CA.  Meanwhile some of them will get inked out and some of those will be colored l8r down the road; nothing epic, just exercises to improve in my artistic capabilities and try out new interesting things w/o the bother of having to do deadline for some project or commit to a preexisting set of rules.

**Note:  Tad darker than the working file, gotta fix 'er up on that**

  I started painting this one first but of the two it's further behind (tho I did make a note to finish the following picture first anyway).  Basically, everything I did w/ the Chun-Li picture that worked is being employed here, but I'll also be looking for any opportunities to improve on certain aspects.  In particular, I could've done more interesting shading and coloring w/ the clothing in that picture, and maybe some texture work as well (it's not like Corel doesn't have the brushes for the job), so on those fronts I hope to make amends here.  I also want it to just look more solid, lively and technically accomplished, so I'm taking careful note and attention to the technical aspects of it as well.

 **Note: Tad darker on the bg than the working file, I need to fix that**

   Avatar's almost done; I went ahead and fixed around w/ the dome earlier today and some more shading in the skin.  Also learned the limits of one of my chosen colors on the palette as far as how much it can go w/o resaturating, so the darks I have here are about as dark as I can push the picture in terms of overall value, which, ironically, works out great.  Still tho, it's something to especially consider for future pieces.  I'll be making sure the Mai picture matches (and exceeds) what's gotten done here but seeing that a lot of complicated stuff is being dealt w/ here is really improving my confidence.  There are maybe three pictures sitting around waiting to get painted, but they were way too ambitious for me @ the time to start on.  I feel a bit more up to tackling them now (and yes the Blue Mary picture is one of them), but they'll have to wait until these two and Bilstien are finished.

   Speaking of which, here's the S.O.B now.  Went through SO many iterations just to find something I could say I liked.  I wanted a pose that wasn't just him standing around, but some of the other ones I came up w/ were either off-character or too disjointed for him to pull off (I mean, he's a big dude and isn't quite a gymnest either).  Eventually I just settled for this one of him in his mighty chair holding his sword.  It's unbelievably rough @tm (barely gotten started), and I need to have it done by the end of the month, so here's hoping I can switch to this one for a few and finish it fast enough to resume the other two pics and have 'em done by the end of next week (which, technically, should be more than possible now).

   That will conclude it for updates this week.  Once I get the CA.org situation organized I'll link to it here, and I will also be posting some work on Pro-Spec finally by the end of the month, starting w/ the Chun-Li picture (unless I draw and paint another one before then, most likely I'd roll w/ the new one), even tho that blog needs a lot of design work done regardless. Oh well.  Anyways I hope you all like the update and I'll see you next Wednesday w/ more stuff.  'Till then, l8r out :)

SatAft Update

 

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     Good Saturday afternoon everyone; just a while ago I fired up Super Mario World again.  I'm still oddly stuck on the level w/ the koopa wizard, but I figured it would be smart to try and find an earlier point to rack up extra lives, which I did.  So now I have triple the starting number of lives and the two spots before "that" level are pretty easy (barring any daredevil stunts that get me killed in the most stupid of ways imaginable), so I hope I can finally get it done and move on to the newer areas of the game.

     But of course, the real reason I'm here is to post up some more artwork.  Before that, though, I'd like to state a re-evaluation of my practices on my deviantART.  Basically, I'm just deciding to keep my current stuff on my account, and let it be.  Those pieces helped me in some way or another and they should stay there as a result.  Anybody who turns away a part of their past feeling that through simply ignoring it they can move on and get better, is a puppet's fool.  At least in my case, there is no reason to get rid of those pictures onto another account.  The gallery isn't bloated and it might be nice seeing the progression that's been made.

   Okay, so now we can get to the pics.  I'll keep it short this time b/c I'm probably gonna be needing time to work on these and begin a couple of others today while I try to relax, but as always, we do things pretty informatively here ;)

     Are they waves, or are they clouds?  Is it life, or is it death?  Is it good, or is it evil?"...please don't ask questions like that xD.  I should confess that I'm a big fan of clouds, and all things nature.  There's something innate about it all that attracts me; clouds in particular, puzzle me for how much form they can seem to have, despite being of no physical form to speak of.  They can take on complex shapes and yet seem to be created w/ no care but that of a whim, seemingly so quick to outpace the design of anything man could ever dream or hope to create.  It's pretty crazy, and one night probably this time last week I was rummaging through some pics of clouds I pulled off the internet, and this one here...

   .....interested me a lot.  I haven't tried doing any "epic" scenery as of yet so I've decided to give it a try w/ this one, using that photo as an inspiration reference. 

     There's really not too much more I can say about it.  Would probably be finished by now if it were the only piece being worked on, but that's never the case x3.  Anyway, I'll have it wrapped up by middle of next week, tho it won't get uploaded until the following weekend.

 "Out with the old..."

    Speaking of being done soon, I have the same goal to complete this Suzuka picture as soon as possible.  But you see, when I was working on it this past Tuesday, I...just didn't feel it.  You know, that *feeling*, that it was going as it should.  As I said before, I'm pretty new to digital art and am just transferring what I know traditionally to it, so it's taken a little longer than expected to come up w/ a working process that both suits my comfortability and allows for some flexibility to get energetic.

      I've only only recently gotten a grip on working w/ some preferred brushes through just 'feeling' what they're good for, and when to cut back and switch to a different one.  I could probably be using more brushes surely, but I'd rather stick w/ a small selection b/c it's easier to keep track of.  It wasn't just the use of brushes and layers getting used to, tho; I also needed to understand the use of color both in regards to digital art and in general a bit more.  That's likely to be something ongoing, but from figuring out some stuff I've been able to figure out how to better get a final image w/ the depth and range of colors I have in my head.

 

"...and in with the new..."

     Unfortunately,..well, somewhat unfortunately, it means I started on the Suzuka picture again from scratch the following Wednesday, making some big adjustments.  The good thing is it's going much faster than the old version was, which is good b/c a deal's more work has to get done in comparison.  That's alright tho; as long as the final product achieves what I'm aiming for, it's all well and good :)

     As a result of all this, what I have here is pretty rough and definitely hasn't gotten to the good stuff yet, but it's a solid foundation that determines a work's real strength.  This whole process, is certainly interesting, if there were any way to describe it.

     That'll do it for today; I'm gonna be starting the Poison picture later too, but after that I'd like to maybe draw a dude xD?!?  Seriously, I haven't drawn one in forever, so maybe it's about time.  I already got some sketches for Garuda (SFEX), whom I've always admired (just 'cuz he looks awesome; certainly not for his evilness), so that seems like a good bet.  I really just want to be pretty diverse in what I do, thematically speaking.  There are a lot of artists I like who could probably be typecasted in one or two areas.  I understand having a 'familiar ground' to tread to is important b/c it shows you have a distinct taste and keep consistent.  But at the same time, I fear growing stagnant or accused of being a one-trick pony, and I do have a natural interest in many things.  Guh, maybe it just comes down to figuring out how to best present those interests in what's being done...or I probably shouldn't even worry about this, amirite?

      Okay, that's all for now, seriously.  I have fried rice to cook (and red pepper overdose to indulge in).  I'm definitely gonna beat at least one wizard's ass today.  Alrighty everyone, I'm out; take care and stay awesome.  L8r :)

Mai Shiranui Step 2

  Back again peoples, after a few more hours of working on the Mai picture I started yesterday, and was supposed to be a single-sitting session.  However, my own process seems to keep elongating the time compared to what it could be, so even today she's not gettin' done.  In fact, it might be a few more days before she's completed.

   The reason why's simple:  if I spend six-seven hours a day on it (keeping in mind I'm still learning as I go along), at least a fourth or more of that time is me purely mixing my colors and making test swatches.  A digital program might have all the colors I need right then and there, but by hand it's a pretty laborious process and requires pinpoint balance.  Nevermind the fact diluting paint w/o water is a science in itself, so yeah, it's taking a while.  Leave it to me to underestimate my own working time x3.

   So for now, I'll take it a 'layer' at a time.  I consider multiple glazes of the same colors to count to a layer, until I end up needed to reduce the medium amount or deepen the color in the actual mix, which is where the next layer starts.  Ironically it's coming off a lot like an oil painting technique ("fat over lean")..I'm sure there are other ways to accomplish the same effects, but I'm not @ that point yet to know what they are or execute them in practice (which, really, is where it would matter).

   Still, at least the basic colors have been bought out some and some details are being worked in.  I'm deliberately leaving the skin for last b/c it'll require a wholly different approach than the rest of the picture, and the background should get a good spice-up sometime during all this shit.  The whole thing should get done in maybe another few days, since I have other pictures to attend to in the meanwhile.  That's just how it goes, I suppose.

   Sorry Mai, your face won't be in the mail until quite l8r this week, but as the old adage goes, "slow and steady wins the race".  Be back l8r everyone; take care and be awesome.  Bye.

Art Day Appreciation and New Direction

  Hey everyone; for the first real post to this blog, I decided to take a piece of artwork I wanted to do for the worldwide art appreciation effort and share it here.  I'm also featuring it on my dA account (naturally), but @ least here I can muse a bit more on what it means to me.

  The idea behind this piece was simple:  since it was for a one-day event, I wanted to try a much different direction than I normally do w/ my art.  More specifically, I wanted to try a piece that was not preplanned in any way, and not presketched in any way either.  And, keeping in mind the subject manner, the end aim goal and the use of a few techniques I have only started practicing on maybe two weeks ago @ most, it's coming along pretty damn well.

  First, a bit about the character; Mai Shiranui is, you could say, SNK's mascot champion girl.  She's the main reason so many people look to SNK w/ reverence, and/or a sly bit of perversion.  Make no mistake, she is a cute, quite sexy kunoichi, and sometimes it's a miracle she doesn't cave over w/ those quite massive breasts (granted, their size tends to change depending on the game and the artist, which does hint at good variety, if unintended on SNK's part).  She's essentially also SNK's answer to Chun-Li, who, I must admit, is my favorite video game female character (and also the one that got me started on my thigh fetish x3).

"Don't be scurred, my face should be in the mail tomorrow :)"

   The picture itself is being done on what was my very last piece of Canson Montval 400gsm acrylic paper (until the new pad came in this afternoon,..talk about timing) w/ Galeria Cadmium Yellow Hue, Cobalt/Ultramarine (again, new stuff arrived and I replaced the Cobalt w/ Ultramarine a bit later), Crimson, Titanium White, and Mixing White colors.  Mediums being used (interestingly enough none were going to at first) are water, Galeria Retarder fluid, Liquitex Glaze fluid and Galeria Extender.  Materials aside, I'm going back to something I haven't done in a long time w/ a painting...actually "painting".  Not content w/ doing a laborius sketch or mapping out every detail before even taking the first brush stroke, not content w/ using my trusty color pencils for laydown.  Certainly, @ this point it's pretty blocky but the freedom that's been opened up taking this approach again more seriously has given me a new fascination for art.

   That said, I've actually been considering taking this approach for a while now.  Some of the other pictures I had been doing were leaving me unsatisfied.  Always some issue w/ the lack of color density, the flatness of the lines, etc. etc.  So I took a step back and, while still doing some other pieces in techniques more comfortable, have been doing much reading on how to get the most out of my acrylics and brushing up on various theories of composition and design.  For now, this piece is the start of me putting that into practice w/ the medium I intend to main (not exclusively, but more or less) while maturing my craft.  A tough shit to do when it's basically yourself doing the teaching and learning (save the tutorials online and some people's art you find here and there), but if you want results, it's just gotta be done.

  For this picture in particular, I'm focusing mainly on glazing technique and proper dilution of the paint.  I'm also focusing on emphasizing for and shape using brushstrokes and color, rather than relying on any thick pen/marker outlines like I usually do.  It's a whole different ballgame, not to mention this piece is heavily opaque (I'm much more used to thin transparent washes using mostly water for dilution), but I plan to make it work regardless.  The progress here is just the initial opaque glaze following a few layers of transparent underpainting washes for harmony.  At first I thought I messed up w/ the skin by making it's top glaze seen here too thick (and, well, I might actually have done so xD), but I'm hoping using a variation of a wash-glaze technique used in some of my watercolor pictures will bring it together..keeping very subtle and sensible on the skin from here on.

  That's about all I have on this one piece for now; I was hoping to finish it by midnight but it's probably better to take a bit of a break (i.e not rush shit when the hand is getting cranky) and resume tomorrow, which should have it done.  I *really* want this one to be a noticeable step up from my previous painting, rough edges notwithstanding.  So I hope everyone watching and reading is wishing for the best and together we turn Mai's magic on like she's getting out on the runway.  Thanx for stoppin' by, peace out and see 'ya l8r.