Rhino beatle zombie dragon

Things have been a little hectic for me recently to put it lightly, so I haven't been doing much drawing, sadly. I've been working on photoshop WIPs of mine, but nothing to finish. So here's something I drew up for a Secret Santa thing I did on another site. It's a zombie rhino beetle dragon.

I'll try to get more things done, I swear. x_x

Heroic

I'm working on some ideas do draw now, and once I get home, I'm going to watercolor my ass off, but until then, here's an oldie but a goodie.

This was done back in May as a private commission. There were a lot of things learned with it. The piece is done on smooth bristol, 11x17. What the commissioner wanted was a propaganda like piece of a character of hers, so I used Russian constructivist art as a reference for things like the color palette and composition.

The paper was stained with tea before I started coloring, but after I had inked the piece.  I used microns to do the inking to get that crisp, geometric feel of propaganda art.

Mistakes made that I have learned from:

- Treated paper and markers are not friends. It was incredibly difficult to get large spaces of color to be the same even tone.

- I should have used some kind of stencil for the buttons on his coat to all be the same uniform size.

-I'm not really sure how I feel about the white lines to separate the different black shapes. I should have either left them as implied shapes, or left the tea stained paper blank instead of using white. 

-Tape does not always stop marker from bleeding off of a straight line. x_x It can get under there.

Over all though, it was a blast to work on, even if it did murder every color I used on it. x_x I shouldn't have used marker to do flat coloring admittedly, but at the time it was really the only medium I was using.

Winter Break

My excuse for not posting. I'm back at my parents house and baby sitting for the week. This is my mom's cat, Gabby. She is fat and sassy.

Paper Cuts

A paper cut out piece of my Draenei paladin from WoW. she's 100% construction paper cut outs. I thought it would be a fun thing to do, and for the most part it was. Working with the color limitations was a bit frustrating, but It's been suggested to me to use patterned and craft papers for my next one, so we'll see how that works out. It's a nice change of pace from drawing, even if I do hate cutting out and pasting such small pieces. x_x  She's going to be laminated here in a bit, but I wanted to scan her before the shine from the laminate would mess with it.

Derp gryphon

I finished my animation of my gryphon, and here's the scene he was placed in for it. Unfortunately, due to skin weights issues, he couldn't be articulated, so the animation is more of a test run of the animation path than a final deal.

Have some more scene renders.

 

 

Marrow

Look! A profile bust facing the right! Gasp!

Sorry. When I don't have a whole lot of time t dedicate to something, I tend to default to busts. :X These are more me being able to draw SOMETHING for myself than any kind of finished piece.

This is Marrow. My spirit medium monster. :B He's very nice.

done 100% in photoshop.

Bad Romance

Inspired by Lady Gaga's song as well as the music video for Bad Romance. Say what you will about her, but she has some interesting visuals in her videos. The stark white and red along with that crazy white latex outfit made me want to draw something similar.  So I guess this is my homage to her and that song.

finals are over for me on the 10th! So excited to be done!

Crunch time

Not a very good photo WIP of my painting. x_x

Gotta love those blank, vacant eyes. I'm using my boyfriend Chris as the subject, seeing as how he's always here, and easy to get to model. I know the hand looks super weird, but honestly, in the photo it's really that odd. I actually was worried I gave him too many fingers at first. XD Just because of how much space that hand is taking up.

I'm going to TRY and get this under painting part done by Wednesday afternoon. TRY. Here's hoping. x_x I  can probably get about three more little painting sessions in before that class. And then I have until Dec. 9th to finish this. UGH. So much work to do in about a week. It's pretty ridiculous. Gotta love those big end of the semester projects.

And on a totally unrelated to school note, here's a sketch study I did of a folk singer I enjoy called S. J. Tucker. I've gotten an idea of a piece I'd like to do as a bit of an homage to her, so I'm doing sketches to figure out her face shape and the like. Should be fun. 

Sekhmet

I've been having issues getting technology to work for me, so I've been ragefacing a bit. And today I was griping about how there's a sorry amount of art out there for Egyptian deities, so I drew Sekhmet, the lion headed Goddess of  war who's breath made the desert. She also almost took out humanity according to myth, and was only stopped when she got totally smashed on beer dyed with pomegranate juice to make it look like blood.

I think Anubis unfairly gets a lot of the Egyptian deity lime light, so I'm going to endeavor to draw all the other awesome Egyptian deities. I'd like to draw Hathor, Horus, Sobek, Thoth, Set, Nekhbet, Nut, etc.

Fake it

Look at the bruise I gave Sarah. :D

Haha, it's fake. I used her for a photo shoot, and she needed some bruises for it, so I broke out my copic markers, and kinda just winged it. I used colors I've seen prominent in bruising, and then just dabbed and smeared.

I'm terribly fond of my handiwork XD. So if you ever need some fake bruises, I can do it haha.

SOCA, now with twice the models!

SOCA was awesome last night. We had a couple as models, and they could BREAK DANCE. They were awesome enough to hold break dancing poses for a solid minute for some gesture drawings (far left). It was fun to draw two people interacting.

Hands make me think of monsters

More hands drawn durring Eastern Religions class. I love the class, but it doesn't require note taking, so I have to keep my hands busy while I listen. Therefore, I draw...hands. And then today while in Panera waiting to get my portfolio back from the department review I drew an arm monster. He's very frustrated with having so many arms to deal with. I would be too.  This sketchbook is supposed to be for life drawings, but I couldn't help myself. One monster in the whole book shouldn't hurt anything.

Speaking of monsters, I'm thinking of starting on another monster book. First I need to finish editing the text for my Beastiary of Bottomdwelling Monsters though. But what I was thinking of doing, is like, a book of monster portraits. The premise would be that on each right page, there would be a full page image, and on the left, a blurb about the picture. It would be written in first person, and it would be me explaining the story behind each monster, and how it was to work with them to draw their portraits. And I think the chapters would be divided by stages of a monster's life. So some would be like high school photos, others like wedding photos, family portraits, and then some srsbsns classical photos. Like when people go to get those old time western photos done.

Imagine it. A picture of an adolescent monster in headgear to gnarl it's straight teeth. HOW ADORABLE IS THAT? I'm probably going to finish editing my first book over winter break (so I say) and then work on the next book this upcoming summer break if I don't start sneaking in pictures before then.

Here's a piece from my Bestiary of Bottom Dwelling Monsters book. It's a book I did for an AFO class here that labels and discusses monsters living under the beds of people around the world. It's 35 full color images. That I had to make in 5 weeks. Never again. x_x  The book is, geeze, over a year old now, but it still stands ok as far as quality.

bad juju

 Things haven't been going the best recently, and been really stressful. I've got so many issues to fix, and not a lot of time for any of them. This is the only thing I've been able to draw, and I think it sums up how I feel pretty nicely.

Painting WIP 2

Here's another WIP of my final painting. I've gone back in and added some more value. Tomorrow I'm going to make it so the new tones aren't just on the top of the piece. I'm really fond of the little bird figured in there. Not a whole lot left to do on the background. Soon I'll have to paint the figure. x_x

And here's a bit of a look at a sketch I'm currently messing with of a character I have neglected for way too long. It's been so long since I've drawn him that my way of drawing has changed, so it's hard to figure him out now. x_x  The hair is really giving me trouble, and so is his bottom jaw. I'll post this again when it's finished.

Sickly sick sick

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit. I've been sick since Wednesday and not fit to really do much but sit in bed and wallow around. I've still got sinus pressure and a cough, but all is well aside from all that, so I'm back to drawing capable. I should be posting a new WIP of my final painting at some point later tonight. I'm so behind on school work it's a bit sickening. x_x

Steam Machine

Some sketches using colored microns. The hands were going to be a hand forrest, but I deviated for some odd reason. Maybe I'll try again later.

 

Here's the first WIP photo of my final painting for my painting class. I feel so much better now that it's started. It doesn't feel so huge anymore. I think the person in it is what's going to take the longest though. This is just an underpainting. There's actually going to be glazes of color on this once the values are put in. This way, I'll have a uniform green feel to everything.

Inspiration Post

I found a website for someone who does amazing concept art and I decided to do a bit of an artistic inspiration post.

http://scribblepadstudios.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=8&page=1
This guy did some of the concept work for Uncharted 2. I love how detailed it is. I don't think it's 100% digital painting though. Looks like it might be a collage of photos, 3D renders and photoshop. I could be wrong though. I would love to learn how to utilize Ps like this though.

http://www.rottface.com/
I really wish he had some of his black and white up to show to you. It's so clean and amazing.
http://prescottdrawblog.blogspot.com/
Here's his blog. I love how angular and geometric his work is. And once again, his black and white work is to die for. I want to learn how to use positive and negative space as well has he does.

http://www.wretch.cc/album/album.php?id=usf3556&book=76&page=1
Tiffany showed me this guys work. I think she said he's a friend of her moms? I love the use of fine lines and minimalism against the bold thick and textured spaces. I'm also a sucker for the black and white work.

http://www.creativeuncut.com/media2/mgs-sketch-snake.jpg
Yoji Shinkawa is probably one of my biggest inspirations. I took into seriously learning how to use my brush pen because of him, and he's inspired me to work on getting stronger with black and white as well as a limited color palette. I absolutely adore the textures he gets out of his materials, and how loose he is with the inking.

There's tons of other artists that I look to for inspiration, but these are probably the ones that make me want to draw after I look at their work and want to improve.

Who are your inspirations? What artist makes you want to draw?

Overhaul

The blog's gotten a bit of a small face lift. Nicer, less generic colors and a proper banner. Feels much more mine and less like the default format. Mmmmm, neutral color pallets....

You are (not) alone

We did a fun set of photos dealing with motion and lighting in class today. Here's just one, and actually only one of the two photos that are still. The rest are all crazy motion shots. For the rest of the set, follow the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12729122@N06/sets/72157622773044944/

I AM THE BRAINWASHER

This is what happens when you let me draw from movie stills. I will find the strangest movie I possibly can.

Both of these are from the Daft Punk movie Electroma. Hillariously wtf movie, watch it.

Took WAY too long on both of these. about an hour and some change a piece. but I was also drawing and talking on AIM, so.....

Acrylic and ink on moleskine paper.

Dark Circles

I lied. Here's something else before my weekend. I might lie again later too, we'll see.

Close up of my to scale full body self portrait. This piece is as big as I am, almost exactly. I generally hate drawing myself, but I think this was one of the better attempts I've made. I'm using the full sized shot for a portfolio to turn in to try and get into honors studio. Wish me luck! There's lots of really talented people in our department, so I'm not too confident about getting in. x_x

charcoal and white chalk on butcher paper.

Human after all

One of the few things I've done for myself. Pharoh is a survivor in the post apocalypse scene, serving out her own brand of karma with her trusty bat 'The key to the City'.

I've just obtained a ton of Daft Punk video, so I'll probably be drawing them quite a bit here. Also, I'm going to Nekocon this weekend, so I'll be drawing lots of cosplayers I'm sure. All to be posted here.

See you sunday!

sketches and finished work

I was at a friend's house, and drew their boxer dog. Such huge jowls! And moar shoes!


My friend Sarah drawing as well. I forgot the very first page in the first sketchbook because I'm so used to only drawing on one side in my regular sketchbook. x_x So this one isn't too elaborate, but I like it. It was a challenging angle to draw.


This is the front cover of my second sketchbook for Concept drawing class. It was so bright red, I couldn't think of what else to draw. I wish it was more symmetrical. Here's to trying to finish another 100 page sketchbook by the end of the semester! I'm going to try!


A C project done in my concept drawing class. Done from sketch to finish in a bit over two hours. The prompt was to draw this box, and whatever we wanted to be inside of it. And when let to wander, my brain likes to come up with monsters. So these poor guys are critters from Pandora's box placed back in the wrong container, and horribly afraid for their well being.


Finally, something I did to unwind. I've been starting to drag as the semester draws to a close, so being able to just doodle something without worrying about things like anatomy or composition was nice. I intend to transfer this to some watercolor paper and pick at it here and there when I have the time as a de-stresser. I'm very fond of it. :3

And now for something completely different

My first 3D model! He's gone from a drawing on paper to a model in Maya over the past few weeks. I'm so proud of it! I ran into some interesting issues, and learned a lot. The penguin model we learned on definitely helped a lot. Thank god for my Maya basics book too.

I'll post more pictures once he's got some color to him. :) The idea is to do a short animation with this guy by the end of the semester. Here's hoping!

sketches and monsters once more

The first three are from a separate session from a few weeks ago, and the last three are from this past Friday. I really enjoy having female models. It's a big change of pace since we seem to get male models more of the time. My first sketchbook of the semester is almost full! I'm going to try and fill out a second, which means doing more life drawings instead of random doodling.


I had a bit of a Chinese monster phase, and this is the last of the monsters. I really like it, but I have no idea what to do with the guy. I was thinking of printing it off and transferring it to some watercolor paper to experiment with watercolors. Textures, colors, etc. I might if I ever get the free time.

Misc life sketches and doodles.

We had a drawing day in my concept class, and we watched V for Vendetta, pausing the movie on occasion to draw the still. This is the one I like the most. I really love her hair in that scene. If only I could have done this one in color. The lighting and the blues with the dust specks in it were great.


Some 5 minute drawings from SOCA (society of communication arts). The guy had some really great arms and legs to draw. So lean. I tend to enjoy these 5 minute ones because I get down just enough information to read that it's a person in that time.


One of the last drawings from a night at SOCA. I had 20 minutes with this one, and I slowed down a bit. I wanted to try and get a lot of line variation in it. I wish I'd had more time to get the values in places darker, but ah well.


Just a werewolf doodle I did for fun. I don't draw as many monsters as I used to, and with Halloween down the road here, I've been getting to urge to do so. No refs used, so I'm sure something here is wrong haha. I'd like to take human and wolf anatomy and try to fuse the two together though, and do an anatomy study on werewolves for fun.



More hands. I need to snag someone else's hands so I get more of them interacting and from more views. the pencil doodles were me not being able to control the compulsion to draw monsters. After beating Uncharted 2, along with my world religions class talking about Buddhism, I've had the itch to draw Buddhist like demon critters. None of these doodles are referanced from anything, just stuff from my own subconscious wanting out on paper. There's also the Buddhist wheel up there on the left. :B

Togruta are the best SW race

You had to know it was coming. I can't keep the nerd out of what I draw.

My favorite race from the star wars universe are the Togruta. Twileks are totally over rated. I didn't use a reference of her race while I was drawing this, so I'm sure her horns aren't perfect. This was just a doodle that I used to play with different ways of shading using my Pentel brush pen and some grey prisma markers I borrowed off a friend. Conveniently enough, they were warm grey, so they look a tad reddish, which works for her race. :D

No references used, all from my head.

Oil Paint

This is my second try using oil paints to paint a person. The first wasn't as good, so I think I'm learning. It's a tough medium though. I think paint in general (save watercolor) tends not to jive with me. Which is all the more reason to work harder at it. I think the hardest parts are the smaller details, and the last few hours of work. The eyes and mouth, along with the nostril were the toughest part. It requires the steady hand I tend to lack. I'm pretty proud of what I've managed to accomplish though, given this is only my second attempt with the medium.

Hands

I'm keeping a sketchbook for my concept class, and here's a page from it I'm pretty fond of. Hands are a bit of a weakness of mine, so I've been practicing at them to get better. These hands belong to me, and my fingers are so bony, they're tough to draw. Which means I should do more of them.

About me

Hello, I'm Erin. I'm an art student here at Virginia Commonwealth University majoring in Communication Arts. My passion is concept art, and I like to make up people and critters in my limited spare time.

My second passion after art is video games, and it's the industry I hope to join. I see video games as an entertainment medium with huge potential, and one that while still young, is making leaps and bounds in advancements. I love the interactivity of the medium the most. Watching a movie or reading a book is really great, but getting to be involved and interact with the story being told seems like a very compelling vehicle to use to tell a story. Each person's experience with a video game will be different, and that makes it a very personal method in which to learn and care about a story wanting to be told.

Other than that, I'm just a generally huge nerd. I get excited over new game engines, polygon counts and cell processors. I play White Wolf RPGs, I like Star Wars, comic books and anime. You can find me on WoW as well as Team Fortress 2.

I hope to use this blog to share my school and personal work. Concepts I'm working on, things I'm learning, doodles and sketches along with works in progress. Thanks so much for taking the time to look!