2012-05-28: Pin-Up Art, Gunnm Cosplay Ver.

(Slowly) practicing value and highlights.

2012-05-22: Pin-Up Art, Base Color

Pin-Up Art, base color: Exploring outfit options at the base color stage: スク水モード。

2012-05-21: Figure Line Art

An example of what happens when too much time is spent on getting the pose and proportions just right.

2012-05-18: Facebook Timeline Cover

With the 851 x 315 cover design above squared away, I've finally switched to Timeline on Facebook.  I've been holding off on doing so until I had amassed enough CG fodder to implement the layout I wanted.

Getting things lined up just right was tedious, but now that I have the basic template, it should be relatively easy to update the thought bubble's contents without going through the tedium.  Only time will tell if it will work out as smoothly as I contemplated.

2012-05-16: Character Design "E"

Today's sketches for "Heroes of Pyndari" character design "E." 

2012-05-15: Finished "Pyndari" CG

First completed CG, added to Natty Words portfolio.

2012-05-14: Character Design "V"

Character design for the viewpoint character of "Heroes of Pyndari."

2012-05-12a: Highlights & Shadows

Added highlights to the subject & adjusted shadows to account for the new light source.

2012-05-12: Basic Values, Light & Shadow

Added basic values, light & shadow.

2012-05-11a: Character Design

2012-05-11a: Protagonist design sketches for short story "Heroes of Pyndari."

2012-05-11: Background Textures

2012-05-11: Could only scrounge up a couple of hours in all to add some texture to the background.  Values are next on the checklist, though my time on the desktop will have to be scheduled around some carryover reno work.

2012-05-10a: Revised Building Line Art

The contractors were late this morning, so I was able to sneak a few minutes on the desktop to redraw the building line art (the lackluster lines from yesterday were killing me).  Now back to redrafting the story.

2012-05-10: Rough Background Line Art & Tones

Rough background line art & tones using the pen tool.  Drawing on the portable setup was a heavy time sink, and is the reason for the white ghosting around many of the outlines.  May have to redo the line art on the Cintiq, but the finishing work on the renovation means I'll be stuck on the MacBook Air tomorrow too.  So I may skip the illust work and focus on redrafting the short story instead.

2012-05-09: (Very) Rough Background Art

Due to installation work being done in the bathroom (other side of the wall from my desktop), I've been continuing work on this illustration on a portable setup: MacBook Air 11" + Intuos4 Medium.  A bit cramped and looser control than the Cintiq 21UX, but serviceable in a pinch.

Added a (very) rough sketch of the background layout, with some approximate tone / color values filled in.  In line with the short story, the setting is in a park, which is in a city, which is on a orbital space colony (hence the interesting angles and scenery in the distant background).  Not exactly a backdrop suited for a first attempt, but it's what the illustration calls for.

Will be experimenting with the pen tool for the architectural lines.

2012-05-08: Rough Color

Here's a rough colored version of the line art from yesterday.

I've spent most of my drawing experience obsessing over sketches and line art, to the point that I have comparatively very little experience with coloring, shading, and background composition.  The only real way to address those deficiencies is to tackle them head on, so I'll be doing - or at least experimenting - with all of the above through this illustration, and subsequent ones (as long as I can keep up the pace of producing them.  For me, creator's block is almost 75% the inertia of laziness).

2012-05-07: Line Art

This picture started off as a character design page for a short story I'm trying to finalize in time for the second quarter of the Writers of the Future contest, but I liked the angle enough to sketch out a full jumping/falling pose.

While I'm still a novice at both drawing and fiction writing, it strikes me that there are useful parallels between the creative process for each art that lends a unique insight into the other.  The first draft of any work of fiction - as Ernest Hemingway famously quipped - is crap, and it's best for a writer to accept that fact up front lest he or she get discouraged by the initial result.  The same can be said of the rough sketch for an illustration.  In this case (and in the case of my new profile picture), the initial sketch was so dodgy that I didn't even feel comfortable enough to post it.  A couple of trace overs and refinements took that rough sketch to the line art above, much in the way that several redrafts can finalize the basic structure, plot, and style of a story.

A Look at the Production Process for My 2012 Profile Picture

Pencil Sketch:

Wacom Sketch:

Line Art:

Colored Art:

Sketch of the Week: Portrait

An old rakugaki from 2006:

Sketch of the Week: Workshop