Blog
Gigantor (heh, get it!?) Robot WIP
Here’s some random robots from a fucking ENORMOUS digital painting thing I’m working on.
I am trying to keep the final concept a surprise, because I’m pretty sure people will lose interest if I tell them what it’s gonna be.
(ignore the dots, they’re for color reference)
I say it’s enormous (or GIGAAAAANTOOOOOOR (seriously, do you guys get this, or not?)) because in the past I have been making things too small, so THIS time, I used ALL THE DPI’s (or D’sPI?)! Result? I have to work on each character individually, and each of those files takes about 5 minutes to just save the damn thing!
Please don’t crash… Please don’t crash… PLEASE DON’T CRASH!
Flotation
Commission for an old and very talented friend: Flotation. He does the hippity-hop.
Concept sketch:
And the final:
(Click to embiggen)
Mash Hound Treats
This was a commission done for a friend who (aside from being a quite avid home-brewer) is also making dog treats.
First, here is the concept art I sent to him:
Annnnnd the final:
And there you have it. The treats will be on shelves soon, and website is in progress. I will update with a link when I get it.
Family Photo Fun
There are several ways I cope with my recent bouts of Insomnia.
Here’s one:
Husband is now afraid to go to sleep in fear that there will be more of these when he wakes up.
He is smart to be afraid.
My foray into the Children’s’ book market
Without going into a rambling story about what led to this post, I’ll make it short and sweet.
I have a friend.
I troll this friend relentlessly.
She wanted to write children’s books with me as illustrator.
She also wanted said children’s books to star her pets.
I took the liberty of drawing up some ideas.
Uh-Oh, these guys look tough, Charlie!
She's got a secret, but she's not telling!
Smokin' weed everyday
Downward spiral, Charlie
Let's hope it's just the flu!
It isn't.
Working titles: Charlie Dies with Dignity, Charlie Meets Death, and Charlie Hangs Around (my personal favorite).
Why is she still friends with me!?
Love,
Beth
Kid friendly
Ok, so last time I posted was before I got myself knocked up. Now, I have a 7 month old.
My art has taken a dramatic turn towards the kid-friendly. No more penises and vaginas for this gal.
I started drawing a bunch of Alphabet flashcards with animals on them:
It started to go downhill from there.
Fuck it.
I can probably get a coloring book out of this, or something.
New/old work in progress (and the problems. OH, THE PROBLEMS!)
I was rummaging through old sketchbooks when I came across an old outline (with some india ink) of zebras playing chess. I remembered that I really was excited about this piece, but lost initiative quickly after having started it.
This happened often.
I ripped it out of the sketchbook and set to coloring it.
Then, I remembered why I stopped. The stripes that I used india ink on, had caused the highly thin/porous sketchbook page to wrinkle with fierce amazing. That’s the problem I’m still battling. Scanning it with random objects piled on top of the picture, on the scanner glass, did very little, aside from making me look very unprofessional (as if my unprofessional-ness didn’t do a good job conveying that message, already).
I also do not own an iron.
Since my Prismacolors are wax-based, I am not sure how well they would hold up against a heat source.
Maybe gamma/brightness/contrast-adjusting the hell out of this with Photoshop will magically eliminate said wrinkles.
Ergh.
If anyone has any tips or tricks that doesn’t involve purchasing an iron, let me know!
I have decided that adding that background (digitally) wasn’t the best of ideas. However, I uploaded it with the background so you wouldn’t see how sloppy I am in the negative space. I’ll probably be playing around with different backgrounds while determining whether or not this piece will be officially “finished”.
I was thinking zebra-family portraits on the wall, at the very least.
Maybe a human-skin rug?
Bear with me!
Well I’m at it again!
(Breaking stuff without really knowing what I’m doing.)
Please keep checking back!
SKETCHDUMP!
I started looking through old sketchbooks because sometimes I feel that shit’s better than what I’ve been doing lately (which is editing thousands of photos).
No more promises of uploading things “soon”. I’m doing it now!
Husband. Doing what he does best (stealing my laptop and playing TF2 on it).
I think I adequately captured that smug look of his.
I think I started to think about glasses more.
Sometimes I really wish I needed some.
Other times, I’m glad I don’t.
I believe the box pointing at the guy at the bottom would have said something about his shirtlessness.
Specifically, “boy boobs”
Because I am an adult.
This one is more of a “sketch dump”, since it was meant to be part of a comic.
Husband waiting for his beer… or looking thoughtful.
Or pitiful.
Can’t really place that expression.
Another piece from that idea. This is more pitiful.
I’m pretty sure we scripted the guy on the left to be saying, “Rectum… I damn near killed ’em!”
It went over really well.
Uh… I don’t know how this one got in there.
I’m lying. I know exactly why. I uploaded it because I thought it was funny.
Potty humor: It’s super effective!
I think I just was really tickled with her expression (and the little cloud-dong).
The cloud reminds me of a special I saw (in the 90s) about using instant potatoes in ice cream commercials. I think this would be instant potatoes with too much water or milk (or whatever you mix to make instant ‘toes).
More fun (at poor Husband’s expense)
My poor Husband.
Now, initially, this was just meant to be a character sketch because we had been talking (for ages) about doing a mini-web-comic about some of the conversations we’ve had (although it may turn into a project that only we find hilarious).
I thought, hey, I’ll post the images on Facebook and see how it goes. Maybe I’ll get some constructive criticism!
I forgot that many of our friends/family have …unique senses of humor.
Well, here is the initial sketch:
I thought it looked pretty good, but Husband thought it could use “more beard”.
OK! So I posted it and waited.
Let the “constructive criticism” commence:
WARNING: This bit contains language.
Not for the faint at heart, children, pregnant or nursing women, my employers, future employers, or badgers of ill-breeding.
Well, I certainly got some awesome tips with that one.
I am not one to disappoint.
I added onto the image per recommendations, however I decided to censor a little bit; I just didn’t feel comfortable drawing a dick in my husband’s mouth.
I posted the image.
Waited (not very long, mind you. They were ready!)
Touched up:
With this one, I not only added a parrot that looks like our own pet parrot, Bowser, but I added a little shading to the cowbell (for realism).
It looks like we have a winner!
All things considered, Husband was a good sport (<3 J00!). He even showed coworkers. He must be so proud of my artistic talent!
What has been seen cannot be UNseen
Once upon a time, I was browsing the interwebs. As I ventured through the ‘tubes’ I came upon a work of art that just startled me to the core. It was very well done (technically), but the content of the image was just… stunning.
I sat there dumbfounded for a good 5 minutes before I could muster up the ability to close the window.
I’m not going to link it out of consideration of my readers.
Right.
So anyway, it inspired a quick (like lightning quick) doodle I did with deviantArt’s Muro program.
I gotta say, after using Photoshop and Painter 11, it’s a nice, powerful browser-based program! I love the sketch pen!
So anyway, here is a doodle of myself after having seen the image in question:
I was quite pleased with it, so I colored it (or attempted to, rather).
I think it turned out well, considering it was rushed and I don’t know what I’m doing.
fin.
Glowing Orbs
“Glowing Orbs”
Now, this one was based off a 5th grade drawing I had done.
Who lived there?
Sabor-tooth black leopards, that’s who!
A character my best friend and the time and I had concocted in our tiny little brains.
Firefoxes were also our my idea.
Totally gonna sue, Mozilla. Totally gonna sue.
Fish in Love
“Fish in Love” or “Fish in Lungs”?
I’ve used both titles.
Basic idea was to have two fish with a heart between them to indicate love.
Then it evolved into the cartoony heart transforming in to a human heart, which lead me to placing the fish within the body in the lungs.
Fish need water, so this person is obviously expiring.
Poor guy.
Ink Clouds
One of my favorites.
I’ve been calling it “Inky Clouds” and it generates a lot of questions as to whether those flowers are Life Savers or not.
They were not intended as such, but if that’s what you see, go with it!
This was another piece created while the professor ignored me.
Maybe her ignoring me turned out to be a good thing after all.
Jellyfish
This is a highly textured piece I did a while ago.
They’re supposed to be jellyfish.
Still not sure if it’s “finished”, though.
Little secret, the texture wasn’t achieved via paint.
Shhhhhhhhhh
Music in the Trees
Music in the Trees.
Or Analog Trees?
Now, the following picture is the “before” picture.
Or maybe the “inspiration” or “jumping off point” for Music in the Trees.
A SUPER old drawing from my high school art class. A little history for ya. :)
DON’T JUDGE ME!
Eesh. Those headphones are super high-tech, no?
TV wasteland
Hated this one.
This one was always in the back of the closet.
This was more or less something I did to keep me busy in a painting class I took because my professor ignored me.
My professor ignored me and I pretty much did what I wanted because she said I was “too advanced”.
I stopped going to class.
Feathers
Since Husband has been playing ASSBRO nonstop, I’ve had some spare time to work on some of the things I’ve tactfully neglected to do. Aside from working on unpacking (from our September move!?), I’ve managed to squeeze in a little painting-photographing-and-uploading.
It’s a girl.
Naked.
With feathers.
Waves
After I finished this one, it dawned on me that it reminds me a lot of The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai.
That was not the intent, but I have always liked that painting, so I’ll just go with it.
It was actually meant to be the backdrop for a giant octopus sketch I did in my Moleskin.
I liked it so much, however, I didn’t want to risk messing it up with a monster…
Here is the reference drawing from the Moleskin.
Buns or hills?
To be honest, this was a painting that was supposed to be something else,
but I got to the point where I figured adding features might ruin the image.
Space Orbs
This painting, I’ve just called Orbs. Haven’t come up with a real title for it, but it has been compared to the Death Star.
They have also been described as “Death Stars”
UPDATE: As a special treat, I went back and scanned the original sketches these paintings were based off of.
Lucky You!
Personally, I like the original sketch, better.
First portrait…fail
My first painted “portrait” ever. This one was a “big fail” in my mind.
I guess I should have studied proportions a little more thoroughly.
I’m fine with the cleave, however.
It’s a nice cleave.
Perky.
I’m gonna break stuff!
It was bound to happen. As soon as I get in the groove of posting semi-regularly, I want change!
As soon as I figure out how to backup my WP database, I’m going to be drastically changing with look and feel of this place.
This will likely mean that I’m gonna break stuff!
In the interim, if stuff doesn’t appear to be working, let me know!
Sincerely,
B-dawg
(my street name)