Artwork (5-19-09--6-5-10)
Just as it says--I'm trying to give computors around the world a break from having to work through all the pictures in my original artwork page by starting another page. Woot woot!
Victorian Girl
Also known as 'epic umbrella!fail'. I wanted to draw SOMETHING, so I looked up Victorian/steampunk stuff. And then I wasn't satisfied with the pencil drawing so I inked it. Ahh, it's nice to draw again...
Medium: Pencil, Bic pen
Time: Er...about an hour and a half, on and off?
Medium: Pencil, Bic pen
Time: Er...about an hour and a half, on and off?
Serpentine Dragon
After taking a month-long hiatus from drawing or painting anything, my art is BACK!! Tell ya what, it's nice to be painting and drawing again...I've rather missed it.
This was mildly inspired by a drawing that Artoveli on DA did a little while ago. But more than anything else it was an excuse to paint in my new watercolor sketchbook (which is HUGE for a sketchbook). Consider me back in business...I've missed my art something fierce.
Medium: Watercolor, Bic pen
Time: Coupla' hours
This was mildly inspired by a drawing that Artoveli on DA did a little while ago. But more than anything else it was an excuse to paint in my new watercolor sketchbook (which is HUGE for a sketchbook). Consider me back in business...I've missed my art something fierce.
Medium: Watercolor, Bic pen
Time: Coupla' hours
Javert is Not Amused
Well, wouldn't you be in a bad mood too if your sneaky spy cover had been blown by a dinky little kid, you'd been tied to a post, people were walking by reminding you that they were going to kill you 'five minutes before the barricade falls', and the criminal you had been tracking on and off for the past fifteen years had showed up at said barricades too??
*takes a breath*
So, suffice to say, Javert has had a very bad day. And it's only about to get worse. (Fortunately, due to his impassiveness, he just satisfies himself with saying pithy one-liners and generally being made of awesome. XD)
*takes a breath*
So, suffice to say, Javert has had a very bad day. And it's only about to get worse. (Fortunately, due to his impassiveness, he just satisfies himself with saying pithy one-liners and generally being made of awesome. XD)
Charles
This, ladies and gentlemen, is Charles. Charles is my inner editor. He is strangely nice and cute for an inner editor, which has me alternately thankful that he isn't incredibly annoying and wondering how I got so lucky.
(For the uninformed: inner editors are the little voices in the back of your head that critique what you're working on. They can vary in annoyance depending on who or what they're bothering. Most people don't bother to put a face to theirs inner editors, but since I'm a very visual person it's nice to have a face to identify him with.)
This was painted in a couple of hours in acrylics...there are several things 'wrong' with it or that just plain annoy me but overall this is a pretty accurate representation.
(For the uninformed: inner editors are the little voices in the back of your head that critique what you're working on. They can vary in annoyance depending on who or what they're bothering. Most people don't bother to put a face to theirs inner editors, but since I'm a very visual person it's nice to have a face to identify him with.)
This was painted in a couple of hours in acrylics...there are several things 'wrong' with it or that just plain annoy me but overall this is a pretty accurate representation.
Anthony Perkins and Friend
Or 'cling-on', as I prefer to call his little friend. XD I saw this picture: http://img.listal.com/image/745264/340full-anthony-perkins.jpg whilst googling for Tony P. pics and thought it looked adorable, so I drew it. I don't know any of the circumstances surrounding it, who the cat is, what year, WHY he has a cat, etc...perhaps some devoted Perkins fans could fill me in?
(I got rather lazy towards the end--there were things that bothered me about it and so instead of obsessing I scribbled his shirt and the background. *headdesk*
Medium: Mechanical pencil, smudgie, kleenex
Time: Some time over an hour
(I got rather lazy towards the end--there were things that bothered me about it and so instead of obsessing I scribbled his shirt and the background. *headdesk*
Medium: Mechanical pencil, smudgie, kleenex
Time: Some time over an hour
Tony P
Oy...there's SO much that bothers me about this one but I'll just keep it to the shading (or lack thereof) and the fact that I painted the eyes FIRST and there's this big black line around his eyes. Ugh. But considering this is my first try into a watercolor portrait I guess it's okay. (It also didn't help that the reference picture was black and white and I had to reference off of a totally different picture for the color XD)
Medium: Watercolor
Time: A little over an hour
Music: Pandora radio (lotsa' John Mayer, baby!!)
Medium: Watercolor
Time: A little over an hour
Music: Pandora radio (lotsa' John Mayer, baby!!)
Swallowtail Butterfly
And now, after a hiatus of sorts, I come back to you to present a watercolor painting. Of a butterfly.
....
I need to watch or read something interesting soon--my brain-juices seem to have dried up. *wibbles*
Medium: Watercolor
Time: about 30-40 minutes
Based off of: a random picture I found on Google
....
I need to watch or read something interesting soon--my brain-juices seem to have dried up. *wibbles*
Medium: Watercolor
Time: about 30-40 minutes
Based off of: a random picture I found on Google
Tony Perkins Centaur
This is my FIRST EVER foray into photomanipulation. Be afraid, be very afraid!!
Konik Foal
My latest watercolor offering...based off of http://konikpolski.deviantart.com/art/A-Nap-Disturbed-97163780
Medium: watercolor
Time: about an hour
Medium: watercolor
Time: about an hour
Les Miserables Book Cover
Y'know, I had totally forgotten about this until I did the other book cover...anyway. This was actually an assignment for my graphic design class last semester: we were supposed to pick a book and make a cover for it. I chose Les Mis (obviously) and used an old picture of Javert that I had drawn some time before. The background and lettering was done in Photoshop, much like the book cover below. I really like how this came out.
'The Red Tape Mysteries' Book Cover
Toldja I'd get this done...all righty, so this is my first REAL, honest-to-goodness commission. It's for a woman who is writing a series of mystery stories that are as of yet unpublished, and if/when it gets published this'll be the cover. ^-^ The character and her cat are drawn with Prismacolor pencils, and the background is Photoshopped. Have I mentioned lately how much I like Photoshop? It has saved my backgrounds far too many times for me to remember.
Pesky Tim's Horse
Last watercolor for a while, I promise. I have sworn to finish my next commission before I even look at watercolors again.
Who is Pesky Tim, you ask? Well...read this post on The Pioneer Woman's website. http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2007/04/men_atop_equine/ I painted the horse in the first picture. I would have tried to squeeze Pesky Tim in there too, but I drew the horse too high and I couldn't fit Tim in there. Phooey. Next time, perhaps...?
Medium: Watercolor
Time: Dunno
Who is Pesky Tim, you ask? Well...read this post on The Pioneer Woman's website. http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2007/04/men_atop_equine/ I painted the horse in the first picture. I would have tried to squeeze Pesky Tim in there too, but I drew the horse too high and I couldn't fit Tim in there. Phooey. Next time, perhaps...?
Medium: Watercolor
Time: Dunno
Coy Paint
Moar watercolors!! Guess what my new obsession is? XD
Based off of: http://equinestockimagery.deviantart.com/art/Paint-Horse-45-143526042
Medium: watercolors
Time: No idea
Based off of: http://equinestockimagery.deviantart.com/art/Paint-Horse-45-143526042
Medium: watercolors
Time: No idea
Shetland Pony
This was actually my first watercolor painting, but I was having issues with making it turn the right way (it scanned on its side). However, I have fixed it and we are back in business!!
Based off of: http://konikpolski.deviantart.com/art/Spots-131346541
Medium: Watercolor
Time: Eh...I dunno
Based off of: http://konikpolski.deviantart.com/art/Spots-131346541
Medium: Watercolor
Time: Eh...I dunno
Friesian Mare
I rather like this one...I was getting a bit braver with a wider spectrum of colors, so I think this one came out well. That makes me happy. ^-^
Based off of: http://konikpolski.deviantart.com/art/A-Secret-Glance-134719645
Medium: Watercolor
Time: about 1/2 an hour
Based off of: http://konikpolski.deviantart.com/art/A-Secret-Glance-134719645
Medium: Watercolor
Time: about 1/2 an hour
German Shepherd
Yay, breaking out ye old watercolors again...I kind of have a love/hate relationship with these things. See, I really like how I can put a lot of color down quickly, and I really like the look of watercolor done right, but I hate the lack of control. And then of course it's addicting because the pictures can be done so quickly...sigh. Oh yeah, and German Shepherd fur is evil to paint. Just thought you might wanna know that. XD
Based off of: http://konikpolski.deviantart.com/art/All-Ears-111581302
Medium: Watercolor
Time: ...too long...
Based off of: http://konikpolski.deviantart.com/art/All-Ears-111581302
Medium: Watercolor
Time: ...too long...
Welsh Pony
Based off of a picture I found on DA: http://konikpolski.deviantart.com/art/The-Welsh-Stride-121452112 I've been craving color pictures again--which could be a good thing. :D
Karin
Also known as http://merlinemrys5.deviantart.com/ on DA. She's my second person to ever ask for a commission! I'm excited, people! ^-^
Welsh Pony (Section C)
Ahh, I love going through my horse books and drawing random pictures from them. ^-^ I tried a slightly different way of shading this time around--the mane and tail have no (or almost no) back-and-forth movement. I draw straight from the roots towards the ends of the hair and lift the pencil before dragging it back to the roots. A bit tedious, and different from what I'm used to doing, but I really love the fact that it makes the hair look more REAL. And for the coat I use a Q-tip for blending. Smudgies are great, but a Q-tip is just kinda amazing. XD
Medium: 2B and 4B drawing pencils, Q-tip
Time: about an hour
Medium: 2B and 4B drawing pencils, Q-tip
Time: about an hour
Tony Perkins
Tony P, when he was young...ahh, this one was fun to do. I spent a lot of time on the eyes and the hair, so hopefully the viewer's attention is brought to those features instead of the weaker ones (those darned hands again!!)
Medium: Mechanical pencil, smudgie
Medium: Mechanical pencil, smudgie
Steampunk!Javert and Trolley
This was purely inspired by a conversation that a person on DA ( http://corvidangel.deviantart.com ) and I were having about Javert in a steampunk universe. All I can say is, Javert stepping off a trolley has to be one of the best things EVER. It's just so...so... STEAMPUNK! So there!! XD
Kazilik
This is a Kazilik dragon, from the Temeraire series. They are Turkish fire-breathers: the spines seems to act as an internal regulator, as far as I can infer from the books--that is, they issue steam nearly all the time and there is a sound like a kettle gurgling from within them. I'm not quite sure if stripes are canon, but I wanted to draw stripes, so there. XD
Medium: Mechanical pencil, smudgie
Medium: Mechanical pencil, smudgie
Zonkey Foal
Ya ever heard of a zonkey? 'Cause I hadn't, until a few days ago. Apparently it's what happens when you cross a zebra and a donkey--and I must say that they are darned cute. Squee.
Medium: Mechanical pencil, smudgie
Medium: Mechanical pencil, smudgie
Belgian
Yay, more horses! Not much to say about this one--I googled 'Belgian Horse' and drew the first one to catch my eye.
Medium: Mechanical Pencil
Medium: Mechanical Pencil
Sniffing the Breeze
I drew this for the sole reason that the expression cracked me up. Same scanner-issues scenario as below...but otherwise I like how this one came out. *glee*
Medium: Mechanical Pencil
Medium: Mechanical Pencil
Charging Arabian
Ahh, horses...I feel like I haven't drawn a horse for ages. So here's one. :D I really hate that the scanner decided to eat most of the shading so that I had to adjust the midtone and the shading doesn't look hardly anything like the original, but I digress.
Medium: Mechanical Pencil, finger for smudging
Medium: Mechanical Pencil, finger for smudging
Steampunk!Javert, Deux
This is dedicated to dear Sythar on www.fanfiction.net , because she has been having a rough time of it lately. And because she liked the first steampunk!Javert, enough to want one of her own. XD Enjoy, m'dears! I shall be vanishing due to NaNoWriMo this month!
He Took a Pinch of Snuff
Ah, a canon picture of Javert, finally. So what if it's Perkins inspired--the man is a fantastic Javert! *crosses arms*
The only think that really bugs me about this picture is the fact that his hands came out far too small. But I couldn't be bothered to re-draw it...there are too many things for me to do than agonize over hands! XD
The only think that really bugs me about this picture is the fact that his hands came out far too small. But I couldn't be bothered to re-draw it...there are too many things for me to do than agonize over hands! XD
Steampunk!Javert
Right...so this is my first attempt at steampunk. For those not familiar with steampunk, think a mishmash of neo-Victorian clothing and futuristic-looking accessories/weaponry. And as far as his hair goes...eh, I found a picture of techno-dreadlocks and thought 'AWESOME!' So...Javert has techno-dreadlocks. I think he'll need a different hairstyle presently.
Javert in Rohirric Armor
*sobs* I need to get more canon inspiration--now I'm dipping into crossovers! This is terrible!
Ahem. Sorry about that. So this is Javert, in Rohirric armor from Lord of the Rings. This crossover doesn't exist, as far as I know, but the idea was an irresistable one.
Ahem. Sorry about that. So this is Javert, in Rohirric armor from Lord of the Rings. This crossover doesn't exist, as far as I know, but the idea was an irresistable one.
Javert Off-duty
One year and three months after my first attempt at drawing this scene, I come again with another rendering. Woo. This is a bit different from the first version, but the fire is still terrible and I still have issues with this...that leg, for example, the one that's up, it bothers the heck out of me but I am not sure why. There's just Something Wrong. *headdesk*
By the by, for those uninformed, this is a scene rendering from a fanfic: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3470341/1/An_Interlude
By the by, for those uninformed, this is a scene rendering from a fanfic: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3470341/1/An_Interlude
Hari Charles, Revolutionary War Re-enactor
This is a picture from http://corvidangel.deviantart.com 's gallery...she took the photograph, I just rendered it into graphite. This is Corvid's friend--they met during re-enacting (I think) and he had a really spiffy costume so I wanted to draw it. I think it came out really well, to be honest...hurrah for soft dark pencils!
Javert in Repose
...I guess. This is the second picture in my sketchbook--I tried to tweak the tone in Windows Photo Gallery, hence the horrible shading (or lack thereof). Argh. *headdesk* On the other hand, I am rather pleased with this attempt, sort of. There are LOTS of things that need to be fixed, but considering that it's only the second time that I've tried to draw Javert in some sort of a sideways portrait I'm kind of pleased.
Jollly
This was semi-inspired by a fanfic that I read recently, where Joly was sick and hence was bundling up, trying to arrange the magnetic poles correctly in his room, and generally freaking out. So this is a bundled-up Joly. I was experimenting with folds in clothing for this...I intend to improve. This is also the first picture in my new sketchbook--the pages are sort of a creamy-yellow color, hence the sepia tones that occured whilst scanning.
Happy Birthday Knighty!
So this is my half of a birthday-oriented art-trade. For those who missed last year's festivities: http://historyknightls.deviantart.com (known affectionately as Knighty) and I share a birthday (Oct. 20). Last year we did a little art-trade in comemoration for said birthday, and this is my part of said trade. So, again, happy birthday Knighty! 8D
Just for lulz...
So this is the back of the above picture...I was pressing down so hard with the colored pencils that this is what happened (because it was the opposite page to the picture below, if that makes sense. These are all in a single sketchbook).
Two Horses Fighting (Again)
I think that I like this picture better than the one below--they shading just seems to have come out better. Here's the picture it's based off of: http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6594705 Note I said 'based', not 'exact'. XD
Two Horses Fighting
Woot for graphite! I did this yesterday--the picture is based off of a photograph that I found here. I've already got plans to tackle other pictures in this guy's photo gallery; he has several very dynamic (and unusual) pictures with these two horses.
It's really, REALLY nice to pick up graphite again...I go into this phase where after I get the picture sketched and the shading needs done, and I just kind of zone out. Nothing exists but the picture and the pencil...yee. :D And so there's a little glimpse into my mind and my art. Woo.
It's really, REALLY nice to pick up graphite again...I go into this phase where after I get the picture sketched and the shading needs done, and I just kind of zone out. Nothing exists but the picture and the pencil...yee. :D And so there's a little glimpse into my mind and my art. Woo.
Courfeyrac
Have I mentioned lately that I love acrylics? :D And curly hair is so freaking fun to paint, and I love this style, and I love my paints, and I love canes... *spazz*
Montparnesse
This is the 'devil dandy' in Les Miserables...I was going for the old fashion-style that seemed popular back in the 1800s. Considering that I used no pencil sketch before slapping paint down I am rather proud of this. And I also love that fashion style--you know, the kind with the heavy coat with tails and the tapered pants and the cane and the top hat...yeah, you KNOW you love it too. :D
Monsieur l'Inspecteur Javert
Aargh, he looks so STIFF... *headdesk* So the other day I took out my acrylics and gave a whack at painting a portrait of Javert. Looking at this now it looks SO overworked and stiff etc that I don't like it. But I spent the last two evenings--yes, you read that right, TWO EVENINGS--working on it so I'll put the shriveled fruits of my labor here.
Actually, I like his hair and eyebrows...but that's about it. Sigh...
Actually, I like his hair and eyebrows...but that's about it. Sigh...
Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'
Okay, okay, I'm cheating here...I actually drew this almost a year ago. But I was digging through my old drawings and this popped up and I'm still rather proud of it so it's coming up here. Just no comparisons, please...my drawings can stand very well by themselves, but when compared with the original drawing/painting/photograph there are so many mistakes it's embarrassing. *headdesK*
...okay, fine, you can go compare. Just don't come crying to me when it doesn't match exactly to the original. :p
...okay, fine, you can go compare. Just don't come crying to me when it doesn't match exactly to the original. :p
Victor Hugo Sketch
I must be getting better at my art, because this sketch only took me 15 minutes. Yee. It's in charcoal, which I haven't used in quite a while. I miss it...
Quarter Horse Filly
Taken from the cover of Horse and Rider for September.
La Loi Indeplacable
Or, "Javert-related Allegories Portrayed In A Creepy Manner". Basically, I was thinking how Javert is like a statue, with no innate sense of mercy to temper his justice. The arms are the oppressed all reaching up to clutch him in supplication, but he either ignores them or slaps them down with his absolute justice. (You can just ignore my explanation and accept that it's a creepy allegory...)
The face is where I held the pencil a different way for the whole drawing--as a result, the portrait is a lot looser than my usual style. And I LOVE it. I'm going to have to draw that way more often. And, amazingly enough, that whole portrait grew out of my sketching that right eye (the clear one). I love it when I get spontaneous creativity like that.
The face is where I held the pencil a different way for the whole drawing--as a result, the portrait is a lot looser than my usual style. And I LOVE it. I'm going to have to draw that way more often. And, amazingly enough, that whole portrait grew out of my sketching that right eye (the clear one). I love it when I get spontaneous creativity like that.
Lung Tien Lien
Or Lein, for short. This is an albino Celestial dragon from the Temeraire series, hence the light shading. As I was drawing this I thought it would look amazing painted--if I have enough time maybe I will paint it.
Water Dragon
Ah, graphite pencils, how I love thee...Suffice to say, this is my favorite medium out of all the ones that I practice with.
So I actually did a background!! Rocks (or shading to look like rocks) is much easier than I thought it would be. Water is still a little iffy. Scales, muscles, and belly-plates are FUN. And smudgie is indispensible. That is all.
So I actually did a background!! Rocks (or shading to look like rocks) is much easier than I thought it would be. Water is still a little iffy. Scales, muscles, and belly-plates are FUN. And smudgie is indispensible. That is all.
Arabian Stallion
Or 'El Nabila B', as his official name is on his papers. This was on the cover of...Horse and Rider? Maybe? I can't remember--I just remember that it was on the cover of a horse magazine. Slowly but steadily I'm plugging away at those watercolors. I decided that I need a wider color range, especially in reds and yellows (and my current watercolor thing doesn't have any purple, either).
Flech-del-Fuego
A Flech-del-Fuego, or a Spanish fire-breathing dragon from the Temeraire series. The underbelly turned out a little too orange (I was going for more of a yellowish-buff) and I wish I had inked it before coloring it in, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with how this particular drawing came out. I only had a picture of the dragon from the back, so I kind of guessed about the black points on the feet...yeah. But I still like it.
Flech-del-Fuego (Watercolor)
This was the first version of the picture above...I am NOT happy with this. Mostly because the wings are too small and the left one is curved over in an unrealistic way, and his head is far too bare in the 'ruff' or 'fin' department, and my watercolors are kind of wimpy in the color department. It didn't help that my 'red' is actually pink. BUT, for consistency and comparison's sake I am posting this.
Compolina
A Compolina horse, taken from a picture in one of my horse-breed encyclopedias. It's full of great color pictures, and this one caught my eye.
Dragon Crawling In a Window
Just what it says! I'm turning this into a painting that's 2' by 4', and it looks AWESOME. Once I have that painting finished I'll put it up here.
Philip
This is Philip, from my 'new' version of Horsemasters in his school 'uniform'. As you can see he's been revamped quite a bit since his first story...and I just realized that his eyes are crooked. Um...just ignore that, please.
Appaloosa
This is the first time that I ever colored an Appaloosa...they're kinda fun, to be honest. :D This might be the first in a series--I've been getting together some art to take downtown to this second-hand store/art gallery, and the idea is that I could do a short series of pictures with each breed of horse in a different pose. This watercolor is a blast to play with, so I'm just going to see where this goes.
The Fighting Temeraire (painted)
The painted version of the sketch below. I used watercolor, and this took me a couple of hours because I was agonizing incessantly over the details.
Winchester
A light-weight courier dragon from the Temeraire series. This type weighs about two tons and typically is a greyish or other drab color, but I painted it blue with red points because I felt like it. This is done in watercolor.
The Fighting Temeraire
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! *drumroll* Okay, well, maybe not. But I have. I really, really, REALLY love how he came out (the feet are a little blunt for my taste, but that's a minor detail)--I need to ink and paint him sometime.
To those of you who have not been formally introduced: this is Temeraire, a Celestial dragon. He's 15-20 tons in weight and can hold several hundred men at once; his captain is William Laurence. Temeraire's specialty is the 'divine wind', a sort of supersonic roar, and hovering in midair. He lives during the outset and continuation of the Napoleonic Wars.
To those of you who have not been formally introduced: this is Temeraire, a Celestial dragon. He's 15-20 tons in weight and can hold several hundred men at once; his captain is William Laurence. Temeraire's specialty is the 'divine wind', a sort of supersonic roar, and hovering in midair. He lives during the outset and continuation of the Napoleonic Wars.