Hey everyone, it's time for another update!

Since I'm trying to turn these little doodles I've been doing into a fully realized character, I did a couple quick sketches which I'm going to develop a bit further, check 'em out.

I'm gonna be adding some more detail to these in my next few posts, and once I get them rendered a little more I'll pick one to turn into a completed character!

Check back tomorrow to see how these come along! 

Hey everyone, it's time for another update!

I mentioned in my post on the 28th that though I was happy with the concept I came up with, I was a little disappointed in how little effort I put into rendering the character's face. Tonight ended up being a bit of a subconscious attempt at redeeming myself, take a look!

I think this really turned into something very beautiful, of course it's rough around the edges, but it captures what I liked about my original concept. I definitely want to develop this character further, and if I keep coming up with stuff like this I know I'll be happy with the end result.

That's all for tonight, check back tomorrow for something new! 

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

I really ended up liking the sketch I did last night, so I did something similar this evening, take a look.

I really like the different look this image has thanks to the mixture of hard and soft lines in the figure. I might just be exploring this concept that I came up with a little more in the next few days, so I should have something new to share along these lines tomorrow.

Check back again to see something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

I took a little break from my last painting to work on something different, I just felt like I wanted to doodle tonight so that's what I did, check it out!

After some random scribbling I came up with what looks like a robot ballerina with some kind of floral motif. Which might seem kind of odd but it's totally within my wheelhouse. I don't really like the sketch so much, mostly because the face is a bit underdeveloped, but I think it's a cool concept. I really want to start fleshing out the things I draw that are like this, cool ideas that need a little extra love, but I never seem to get around to it. That's something I really need to fix.

I think I've neglected my last piece a bit because I've been channeling most of my creative energy elsewhere, I should be back to my most recent "assignment" sometime soon. I do plan on sharing the piece that has been occupying most of my attention lately here when it's finished, so look out for that in the future!

That's all for this post, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

Regrettably, I don't have a lot of progress to share with you this evening, my cat needed an emergency vet visit today. Before I got her into her pet carrier she managed to carve a nice little gash into the underside of my drawing hand. This made it a little difficult to get any work done as it was one; painful, and two; annoying because I was constantly needing to fix the bandage I applied over the wound. Anyway, here's what I was able to do.

I think the shadow might be a little too dark, and I'm also not incredibly happy with how the cloth is turning out, so these are things I'll probably be reworking tomorrow.

Oh, and just so no one worries, my kitty simply needed some eye drops. She's gonna be fine. That's all for this post, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

I've got another work in progress here for you this evening, take a look!

Well what do we have here? How did that old Klingon proverb go, "art is a plate best served empty"? No, that's not right. "Still life paintings are good in the winter"? That's not it either.

Guess you'll have to see what's on the menu tomorrow, check back then to find out more!

Hey everyone, it's time for another update!

Tonight's exercise wasn't too involved so I've got the finished piece for you right below, have a look!

They're so cute! I love mushrooms, they're just the most adorable thing to me for some reason. Maybe it's because they're also extremely tasty? Haha! Here's my original attempted for comparison.

I must admit that I kinda like the look of this one a little better, I wasn't really able to blend my strokes in Photoshop the way I did here, I also think the forms in this piece look a little more realistic too. These things happen though, oh well!

Here's a little gif for ya.

That's all for this post, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

Here's the finished tree sketch that I started last night, take a look!

This turned out pretty nice! I didn't really learn anything groundbreaking here, but it was a nice exercise to put what I already know into practice. I tried to make sure all of the lines I drew followed the contours of the tree, and I used highlights sparingly so that they wouldn't take away from the overall look of the image. Here's my first try for comparison.

I actually like this one a lot, but it doesn't really look like the reference image, and that's something I have to be careful about. I like to add in details that aren't there, and that's sort of a no-no when you're trying to replicate something exactly.

Here's a gif of how it all came together.

That's all for this post, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

While I would have loved to follow up last night's post with another new digital painting, the next lesson in "Art Academy" is a pencil sketch, so that's what I'll be sharing with you this evening. Have a look!

It might look finished, but I'm not quite there yet. There are still some highlights I need to add, and I'll probably be detailing the mass in the background that represents the leaves a bit more. I also think the area that's not quite in shadow in the middle of the tree could use a bit of darkening, it's pulling my eye to that spot a little too much. Aside from all that, this drawing was pretty fun, mostly because I had to make my own digital "pencil brush" in Photoshop. I can't say I've ever actually attempted that before, so it was a pretty enjoyable process, and I think I was pretty successful too!

Well that's all for this post, check back tomorrow for the finished product!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

We last left off with a pretty rough blocking-in of a tulip, but thanks to a lot of hard work this morning (and this evening), I got it finished. What do you think?

This is honestly one of the most beautiful things I think I've ever painted, haha! I really love it. The thumbnail image almost looks like a photo, but it's all done by hand! I really tried to pay attention to the curvature of the petals and paint them so that they appeared to have volume. I also didn't want to forget about the slightly speckled texture of the leaf behind the flower, so I made sure that got a good amount of attention too. I really feel like this image leaps off the screen, it was a ton of fun to paint and I'm extremely pleased with the result. Below is the original painting I did on my 3DS for comparison.

Uh, wow, I'd say that's a rather dramatic difference. I know I painted the image at the top in Photoshop, so it should innately look better for that reason, but I definitely think the majority of why this latest version is better is thanks to me being able to better analyze what I'm drawing from. Instead of simply using my eyes, I used my brain a lot too, and that's always a good thing to do!

Now, for funsies, a progress gif. Enjoy!

That's all for tonight! Check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

Tonight's digital painting is also from "Art Academy," this evening I was tasked with drawing a tulip, here's what I've got so far.

I think it's coming along rather nicely. It's sort of funny painting this way after what I was doing with drawabox. This is all about seeing your subject in 2D, and basically just copying it. The one thing I am getting from it are the rules of proper painting technique. Though I did these exercises before I don't think they really stuck with me, that's why it's nice revisiting them to help ensure they stay ingrained in my memory. On top of all of that, I can still use these what I've learned here with this game and apply it to what I've learned with drawabox, so I think it's a win-win.

Well, that's all for this post! Check back tomorrow to see how it turns out!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

Last night I shared a digital painting I was working on and tonight I'll be posting the finished product, take a look!

There you have it! I'm pretty happy with it, and it was super fun to work on. My favorite part were all the little details I did at the end, this was basically just rendering all of the light on the cherry to make it appear 3D. I think the shadow could use a little work, since it's a bit more loose in style than the cherry itself, so that's something I'm gonna be mindful about in the future. I thought it might be kind of cool to see how the original version turned out on the 3DS, so I'm putting that image below.

I'd say the new version's a pretty big improvement, right? I also promised last evening that I'd share a progress gif, so here it is!

That's all for this post, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

Since I've been taking a little break from my drawabox lessons, I decided it might be fun to work on something different, this way I'll stay focused and keep learning. I bought this game a couple years back thanks to a recommendation from a friend (I appreciate it Jasmine!) called "Art Academy," it's a game about painting and drawing for the Nintendo 3DS. The lessons are really fun, and they are rooted in the same principles and techniques used by great artists to produce wonderful works of art, so I thought it'd be neat to revisit and share with all of you here.

The first lesson's about painting a cherry on a simple cream colored background, this isn't done quite yet, but check out what I've got so far!

It's pretty cute, right? Now I could be drawing this directly on the 3DS, but the stylus is tiny and the resolution of the final image would be super small, so I'll be doing all of this in Photoshop. I'm breaking up everything into layers, instead of painting everything together, that way I can put a little progress gif together once it's all done!

That's all for this post, check back tomorrow to see how it's coming along, thanks for stopping by!

Hey everyone, it's time for another update!

Today I did a quick sketch in Photoshop, have a look!

I was trying to figure out how to properly light this scene, but I couldn't quite get it. That's why it's looking rather unfinished. I think I've got to work a little bit more with lighting those rocks that I worked on a last week before I jump into something like this.

I'm still not quite sure what I'll be doing tomorrow, or when I'll be resuming regular work. I've been really sick the lat few days, so it has been kinda hard to get into the art zone.

That's all for tonight, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

Here's another piece I drew on my iPad, take a look!

This was just a fun little still-life done from reference. I definitely think this is something I'd like to do more of!

That's all for tonight, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

Tonight I'll be sharing another little bit of concept art I did on my iPad, take a look.

I was going for kind of an evil queen character, but one that was a bit futuristic looking. It's actually a retooled version of a digital piece I posted last year, which you can find here.

That's all for tonight, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new update!

I haven't done one of these before, but I thought it'd be fun to do a "Throwback Thursday" post, so here it goes!

Last year I shared a project I worked on for one of my classes, you can check out the original post here. Something I didn't include in that post was the original concept sketch I did for it, have a look!

Pretty cool, right? It was originally supposed to have more eyes, but I decided two would be enough in the end.

That's all for tonight, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for another update!

Today I've got a doodle for you I did on my iPad, have a look!

Since Halloween is just around the corner I figured something like this would be perfect for tonight's post! I was going for some kind of space-zombie vibe, and I think it turned out pretty cool!

That's all for today, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for another update!

Here's what I've got for you today.

This was something I sketched on the plane, just a little doodle from imagination. It might be neat to rework for a digital painting in the future!

That's all for tonight, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

Here's what I've got for you tonight.

This was a sketch I did while waiting for a plane this morning and since I'm travelling this week I'll be posting little doodles from my sketchbook until I get back home.

That's all for tonight, check back tomorrow for something new.

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

Tonight I have for you a little study of form and light, take a look!

Here we've got three stones stacked atop each other, with a soft light source coming from slightly behind and to the right. I've never really done anything like this before, so for a first try I think it's pretty good! I still feel like the areas in shadow are a bit too flat, and I didn't quite know how to fix that without painting in what would look like another light source, so I left it as it is.

I think I'll be trying to draw these same rocks under different lighting conditions to practice drawing light on form a bit more.

That's all for this post, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

Here's a quick study I did while at work, have a look.

I had a pouch of edamame on my desk today because it's a favorite snack of mine, and I decided it looked cool - so I drew it!

It was a pretty fun little exercise! My first attempt was the drawing on the left, after realizing it didn't look quite right I doodled the smaller sketches in the middle of the page. I scrawled my approach to each of the doodles on the paper for future reference, then scribbled some beans in the corner for fun.

Well, that's all for this post! Check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, it's time for another new post!

Last night I mentioned that I did a little painting in my new sketchbook, here's how it turned out!

It's, uh, a little primitive, haha! I really enjoyed the process though, it was pretty fun mixing my own paints and using a brush instead of a stylus. Working this way really showed me how much I don't actually know about painting, which was actually a good thing.

One more thing before I wrap up, I know that I've deviated from my previous theme in these last two posts, so I wanted to talk about that a bit.

I've been feeling a little stuck lately, and though I know what I've been doing will help me in the long run, I needed to take a break to have some fun. My blog posts were starting to feel like work, and that's not what I want this to be about. Yes I want to improve, so I know I'm going to need to put forth the effort to do so, but I still want to enjoy myself. That's why I'll be doing some sketching for a little while, and maybe some paintings too. I want to recharge a bit before I get back into study mode. It has been ten months of a ton of intense work, so it's time for me to play a little!

That's all for tonight, I have no idea what I'll be posting here tomorrow, so I guess it'll be a surprise for all of us!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

I don't have any insect studies for you tonight, but I do have a nifty doodle I did in one of my new sketchbooks, take a look.

I wanted to try my hand at working traditionally, so I bought a mixed media sketchbook that I intend to use for some studies in acrylic paint. I don't really know anything about painting outside of Photoshop, so this should be pretty interesting. This sketch is something I hope to work on soon. 

I already attempted my first painting, and the results were rather amusing, I'll be sharing that with you tomorrow though. Don't forget to check back then and see how it turned out!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new update!

The insect I'll be drawing next is a caterpillar hunter beetle, these things are gorgeous! Here's what one looks like. Although I made a few attempts at drawing this neat little bug, I couldn't quite capture it to my satisfaction.

I'm gonna share with you a couple of sketches I did to try and figure it out though, here they are!

All of the other insects I've drawn have either been mostly round or kind of tubular (in the case of the mantis), this guy's kind of round yet flat, and for some reason I can't wrap my head around that this evening. Haha!

I'm gonna give this another go tomorrow though, check back then!

Hey everyone, got something new for you tonight, check it out!

The insect I drew today is a yellow jacket wasp. After looking it over I wasn't terribly impressed with it, it looked pretty much like all of the other insects I've drawn, and then I saw its eyes! They're really cool looking, and slightly bean shaped. I don't know why I thought this was so awesome, but I did! Haha!

That's all for tonight, check back tomorrow for something new!

Hey everyone, got something new for you today, have a look!

Today I drew everyone's least favorite insect, the housefly! They sound annoying, they always land on something you're about to eat or drink, and there phenomenally hairy!

This guy wasn't terribly hard to draw, to be honest none of these really have been, it's just a struggle finding good references.

Tomorrow I'm gonna try to knock another one of these out in one go, so let's see if I can do it! Check back then!

Hey everyone, it's time for another update!

Finally got my mantis finished, check it out!

I think this guy turned out pretty cool, I feel like it really looks three dimensional! 

I know these studies have been taking a little while to come to fruition, but I've been spending a long time on them because I want to get them right. I'll do maybe a couple of pages worth of preliminary sketches, then start what ends up getting posted here. Drawing stuff like this requires a lot of observation, and a good amount of time spent on figuring out proportions too, so thanks for sticking with me on these!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for a new insect, see you then!

Hey everyone, it's time for another update!

Worked a little more on my mantis, here's how it's shaping up!

It's got legs! I'm excited to work on the details, but that'll wait for tomorrow. Check back to see how looks then!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new post!

Since I finished my ant study yesterday that means I'll be starting a new insect this time around, and here it is!

It's a praying mantis! I love these things, they're so cool! It sort of looks like a green bean right now, but it'll get fleshed out into a proper mantis soon enough.

That's all for this post, check back tomorrow to see how it turns out!

Hey everyone, it's time for a new update!

Finally got around to finishing my carpenter ant study, check it out!

I think this turned out alright, though I feel like it's lacking in detail compared to the dragonfly study I did. I tried to make this one a bit smaller so that I could fit more of my observations on the page, but it just kinda ended up awkward.

Hopefully I'll find a happy medium for my next study, check back tomorrow to see what that will be!