March

It's been tough finding the time and motivation to paint, lately. So, tonight I sat down and decided to work until I had... something. I started this sketch about a week ago, but hadn't added color. I think this took me about three hours, total?

I don't feel like talking much about the subject of the painting right now, since I'm more focused on the technical aspects of the painting. I feel that my composition could have been better. It was pointed out to me once in a critique that I often have the same sort of POV in most of my paintings, and I can see that here, too--but I think that's something to work on next time.

Is it February, already?

Oh, man, guys... The holidays just kind of disintegrated. I'm not really sure where all the time went, but I did make some art, between my last post and now.

This month has been fun, though. I've been working a lot but I also took some time to do something different and fun, artistically. DeviantART had a Valentine's Day community project, so I decided to join in and created a set of cards featuring animals, and challenged myself to do something unusual or stylistically different with each one. As the challenge went on, it also turned into a challenge to see how cute and sentimental I could make weird critters.

I admit, the honey badger Valentine was not very original, in terms of concept. But that drawing popped into my mind, and I had to do it.

Most of these are vector and/or vexel, with the exception of "I just want the be LOVED" and "Scientifically Accurate Philosoraptor."

Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Enjoy some yōkai for the art prompt.

I'll add work from everyone else in the group as it's posted.

Inonibird

Art Prompts!

So, after a bit of talking, Kaiser and I have decided to start doing some art prompts. The more the merrier, so feel free to join in--especially if you're a BG student or alum!

This week's prompt is "something scary." Any media you choose is acceptable. Posting your work by Halloween would be ideal, but you can give yourself a full week (or more) if you like.

These prompts aren't a contest, or a competition. It's just a way to keep your creative juices flowing and have some fun with other artists. Once you've finished the prompt, post your art on your blog, deviantART, website, etc. If you want to share it with everyone, just comment on this post with a link to your image.

And now, enjoy some music.

Bats and Animals!

As promised, here are the concepts that developed into Alba. Also, here are some stylized animals.

Alba

Just a little illustration I've been working on, lately. This is a new character I designed, a Honduran white bat, named Alba. Drawn in Adobe Illustrator.

You can check out the concepts for this character here.

Color Studies

Lately, I've been trying to put some thought into what areas of my work I need to focus on improving. One of those areas, I think, is color. Looking at my art, overall, I feel that I'm sometimes too conservative with my color schemes.

So, I decided to do a few color studies for a sketch I'd done recently. Since each panel only takes about 15 minutes, tops, there's less "commitment" to make everything perfect and more room to be adventurous. There are some technical problems with the lighting in these. (You can tell I kept changing my mind about where the light source was, and what the room was like.) Really, though, I'm just glad I pushed myself to do something different.

For now, I'd be interested to hear opinions from my readers and other artists. Problems aside, is there panel you like best? A panel you think almost works, but could be stronger? Let me know!

Set1

Set1 with layer blending. B is combined with A; C is combined with D

Set 2

B&W Study - Helina

I started this one yesterday, as a short study/exercise, and finished it up, today. Why Helina? Why not.

I've been meaning to do some more greyscale exercises, and I'm pretty happy with this one. It's a little on the stylized side, but I decided to focus more on lighting than on super-realism. I also spent a good bit of time on that tattoo.

Helina Kerensky

She's not a completely horrible person, by the way. She's just a bit cranky. You would be, too, if you had relatives like hers.

'Nother Birthday

Just a little something for my friend. Don't let anyone get ya down on your birthday.

Paint Sketch

I just got a new tablet, to replace the one that fried. So, here's a warm-up painting to get back into practice.

Ne shiteru... ?

Earthquake

There was a small-ish tremor from an earthquake, today, where I live--the first one I've ever felt. (It was very mild, with no damage.) It was an interesting experience, though, considering how rare that is in my region. Apparently this one originated from a 5.9 magnitude quake in Virginia. I hope that the damage isn't too severe for those closer to the epicenter.

If you felt the quake, the USGS has a brief questionnaire you can fill out, to help them gather more data.

Art Theft on "Art4Love.com"

Just some news to pass on, today. A number of deviantART users have found that art4love.com has been selling their work as prints without their permission. I'm not sure how many artists the site has been ripping off, but in my personal experience, I've noticed that a lot of art thieves tend to be very prolific.

Keep in mind that the site seems a bit wonky. You'll probably have to replace "art4love.com" in any URLs with "http://67.90.44.118"

So, my first recommendation is that everyone who has a deviantART account (or possibly any other art community) check out the site and look for their work. If you find anything of yours, take a screencap with date and time. Print it, if possible, with a date. This could be important later, if you need to go to court.

My second recommendation is that while doing so, you keep an eye out for any familiar pieces. If you see a piece that you recognize, it's best to contact the artist with a link and let them know. Screencaps with dates are a good idea here, too.

This news post on deviantART sums up a number of good ways to take action on this issue.

Lastly, if your work has been ripped off by this site--or any other site--remember that you have rights as an artist. Check up on copyright laws and how to write a "Cease & Desist" letter.

8-04 Sketch

For something a little different, this week, I came up with a sketch prompt for myself. Today's been packed, so I've only finished Part 1, so far. I'll finish the rest of it over the weekend, though.

For anyone following this blog, feel free to follow along and do this prompt yourself (and share your sketches, too, if you do) or suggest prompts for the future.

1. Pick the animal that you find most difficult to draw, and sketch it.
2. Now, pick the animal that is easiest for you to draw. Sketch this one the same as you did for the first animal.
3. Pick a random animal that you find interesting. Sketch it, as you did with the others.
4. ???
5. Profit! Combine all three animals into a chimera-type creature. Try to blend the features of all three into something that looks like it could exist in nature.

Step 1 - Horse

• I'd recommend drawing from life, where possible. Of course, there aren't any horses near where I live, so I used this photo as reference. Try to keep your drawing fairly realistic. Heavily stylized looks exaggerate or cut out visual information, and thus won't help you improve on drawing the real thing.
• Don't re-use existing sketches. Make a new drawing for each step.
• For a little extra challenge, don't erase (or if working digitally, undo) any of your lines. Just put 'em down, and try to live with it.

7-28 Sketch

I've started doing something unusual, lately: namely, playing an MMORTS. Games I enjoy rarely fall into the category of "MMO" or "RTS," much less both at the same time. Last week, though, Hellcat invited me to play League of Legends with him. I was skeptical at first (and also not very good at it), but the game has won me over. I like the art style quite a bit, and the gameplay turned out to be pretty fun once I figured out what I was supposed to be doing.

One of my favorite champions, in terms of design is Anivia. She just looks awesome. She's one of Hellcat's preferred champions, too, so I thought she might be a good subject for a paint-sketch, today. [Insert obligatory Articuno joke here.]

I promise I'll post some non-bird art, soon.

7-21 Sketch

I'm working on commissions again, so a lot of what I've been drawing won't be posted for awhile. I do have something new, today, though. Here's a quick 30-min sketch, 30-min color of Seket that I did as a warm-up.

New Species: Hktrikcht

The Hktrikcht are one of the sapient races in my SF project. They are an amphibious and (superficially) arthropod-like species. Some physiological traits, like a complex central nervous system (which has several "brains"), a chambered pulmonary organ in addition to gills, and closed blood vessels, set them apart from insects and crustaceans on earth. An average adult stands at just .7 meters, and generally weighs no more than 25 kg.

An albinistic individual. (Illustration from senior thesis.)

Because they are so different, the Hktrikcht are an opportunity to play around with how culture and biology might intersect. For example, the character Two-Colors is a gynandromorph.

Gynandromorphy is not especially common among the Hktrikcht, but it is also not so rare that individuals like Two-Colors are seen as unusual. Their culture accepts more sexes than "just male" and "just female," and most of their languages either have many gender-specific pronouns or don't indicate gender at all. How English-speakers make due with only "he" and "she" baffles them.

I did this quick color sketch last night to try and develop the Hktrikcht and the character Two-Colors a little more. Since almost any kind of clothing would be impractical underwater, the Hktrikcht paint or etch their carapaces. (That's something I didn't have the chance to include in the first illustration, due to time constraints.) Every symbol and pattern has its own meaning, like the spiral, which symbolizes balance. If you can read the symbols, it's easy to tell quite a bit about an individual, such as where they come from, how old they are, and what their occupation is.


For anyone curious about gynandromorphy in real creatures, there's some info on Wikipedia. London's Natural History Museum currently has a gynandromorph butterfly, which you can read about here.

Birthday Birds

Two of my friends and classmates had birthdays this week, so I did some gift art for them. The first is for Cara. It's a sort-of fanart for her series "Pesedjet," featuring Thoth, god of writing and other scholarly pursuits. The second image is for Christine, and depicts her personal charge, the cockatoo with a bit of an in-joke.

I feel that these turned out pretty well, and both were very enjoyable to draw. Funnily enough, I used to hate drawing birds, because I never felt I was very good at them. After doing this commission, though, that's changed and I actually like birds quite a bit more.

A New Rating System

The SMRSNH (Scientific Movie Rating System for Nerdy Hipsters) is based on the stellar classification system. Instead of giving a number of stars to a movie, you compare films to types of celestial objects. A list, with examples*, follows below.

*YMMV. Examples are based on critical ratings, and are not guaranteed to be underground.

• O-type "Blue"
  • Members of this type are extremely hot, as well as a very rare. These are the masterpieces, the gems that outshine all the others, and one that will go down in the history books. (Ex. "Citizen Kane")
• B-type "Blue-white"
  • Make a point to see this one before it blinks out. It's an impressive sight, and one you won't regret. (Ex. "Toy Story")
• A-type "White"
  • Bright, entertaining, and energetic, and one you'll most likely enjoy. (Ex. "Star Wars Episode IV")
• F-type "Yellow-white"
  • Though not quite as hot as the others, this one will still make for a good night out. (Ex. "Coraline")
• G-type  "Yellow"
  • You see this kind of thing every day, and there are plenty more where it came from. It's not exactly the lowest common denominator, but it's still not outstanding. (Ex. "Top Gun")
• K-type "Orange"
  • You might be able to enjoy this one if you don't set your expectations too high. It's a dime a dozen, and you'll probably soon tire of seeing its kind. (Ex. "Constantine")
• M-type "Red dwarf"
  • Ah, this is stable, predictable, common—and base. Don't worry about missing out if you skip one of these. There are too many to count, and they won't die off any time soon. (Ex. "Land of the Lost")
• L-type "Brown dwarf"
  • Despite the hype, it ultimately never amounted to anything and probably never will. Often starting with great raw material, the end result is less than stellar. (Ex. "The Last Airbender")
• D-type "White dwarf"
  • First it collapsed, but now it's shining brighter than ever! This thing might have seemed like a failure, but somehow, it's still going—and getting more attention than ever. (Ex. "The Room")
• Neutron star
  • This one is bright, but also incredibly dense. You've heard a lot of people get excited about this, but it's rather puzzling. (Ex. "2001: A Space Odyssey")
• Black Hole
  • It sucks—period. There is absolutely no light in this, and you'd be lucky to escape. (Ex. "Baby Geniuses")
• Supermassive Black Hole
  • Mysterious, infamous entities spoken of in hushed tones and rarely seen. It's better that way, really. These are dangerous. (Ex. "The Star Wars holiday Special")

Weekly Sketches

Here's a little bit of what I've been working on, over the past week. After finishing up Sobel, I did a character sketch of Myron.

I spent a lot more time on this one, playing around with a larger scene. Ultimately, though, I scrapped the idea and went back to the simpler spot illustration style I used with Sobel. It was a little frustrating at first. I felt as though I'd wasted a lot of time fiddling around with something that didn't make it into the piece. Then I remembered how Tom Jech advised us, when he visited BGSU this past semester, that the difference between student and professional work is often what you don't include. It's good advice that I think I'm starting to internalize.

The next sketch that I worked on is a few months older: the clothing design for the High Priestess of the Syäloä, län-Eyloeiwä I started this one at the same time as the others, but felt unsure about how to finalize the design. I spent a few minutes on it again this week, and feel quite confident about the design. She shares some elements of dress with the temple guardians. This also shows, when compared with the other outfits, a cultural element of hierarchy through dress--the higher an individual's status, the more clothing they wear. This is a common practice in many real-world societies.

You can see the previous clothing concepts here; the Temple Guardian here; and the High Priestess here.

A Quick Message

I've recently been polishing up Dr. Catalano's website, and he now has a blog, as well.

As a lot of my friends and classmates know, Dr. Catalano and his family will be going to China, soon, where he'll teach at Zhuhai International School. Unfortunately, they won't be able to take their two cats with them. So, if anyone would like to give a loving home to either of these animals, please check out this post, and get in touch with him.