Artist in progress....

'Hummer' 

I drew this hummingbird for one of my wonderful older sisters back in 2011. It was one of those cold and dreary days when you wish with all your heart it was spring, you either want it to be so cold it will snow or you want the cold to go away. I sometimes wonder why I didn't print out a reference picture for my sister's drawing, but for some reason my reference photo for this drawing was a little cartoon hummingbird, which wasn't of the greatest quality, so if I am a little bit proud of this hummingbird it is possibly because I chose one of the worst reference pictures ever for a 'realistic' drawing.

'Hummer' close up.

I'm not going to say this was one of the best pictures I've ever done, it isn't. But I believe that by posting even the mediocre artwork and my beginning pieces, it shows that I get better with each piece I do. Nobody is born with the ability to draw perfectly, I believe the beginners artwork is more beautiful than the masters perfect magnum opus, because sometimes more love and dedication was put into that lopsided face, or that hummingbird which was drawn on a cold winter's day when there wasn't a flower in sight! Captured in those pictures is some of the greatest feelings which not many people see or feel once they have become masters of drawing and painting.

'Joey from War Horse'

“Can you imagine flying over a war, and you know you can never look down, you have to look forward or you’ll never get home… I ask you, what could be braver than that?”

One of my favourite movies is War Horse, therefore, for a long time I spent my days drawing horses.

The reason for posting this particular picture is, if you look at the picture you'll shudder and say- "Wow, that is not very good at all, the picture is crooked, Joey's neck looks funny, check out his leg...etc." 

I realise I've set myself up for such comments, but you should know, I drew this particular picture without a reference photo, with a terrible No. 2 pencil and I'd probably only had about three hours of sleep.

I'll give you a brief picture, the day was exceedingly hot (too hot for May), I was bored out of my wits, my legs were sticking to the metal folding chair I was sitting on and my brain had all but failed me for any good story ideas, so trapped among clumps of stuff we were selling at our yard sale. I began to draw random objects, a cookie jar, a shoe (yes, I was seriously that bored) and finally I began to draw Joey, and I was very happy to see how it turned out.

'Joey from War Horse'

I know.... I drew this before I watched the film, so I didn't know he had a stripe down his nose!

This picture was a 'Thank You' card for my grandmother and grandfather for giving me a book 'The Big Book of Realistic Drawing Secrets' by Carrie Stuart Park and Rick Parks. Obviously, the book helped me immensely. For this version of Joey, I had an excellent reference photo. I'd probably still be erasing little bits and shading in different areas now if the picture wasn't at my grandparent's house! 

Paintings!

 'Jewel & Jingles'

My first attempt at painting a horse was a work of my sister's miniature horse and my own.

Jingles (my miniature horse) left (tan), and Jewel (my sister's miniature horse) right (brown and white), were painted for a 'Get Feeling Better' card. I must admit this picture is a bit of a stretch for the imagination, I've never seen Jewel and Jingles so loving to each other. :) Since this was my first painted picture of a live horse, it was quite good. My second attempt at painting a horse was a bit better...

'Cookies and Crème'

'Cookies and Crème' was a painting I did last year for an art show! Alas, 2013 has not had any painted masterpieces yet, but already I have something in mind for this years art show.

This painting as you can see, I was a lot better with seeing the colours and where they needed to go. Many of my inspirations come from Illustrator Wesley Dennis- www.wesleydennis.com.

The amazing thing about art is the fact, you don't do it to show it off or compare it to others...(well, we do show it off somewhat...) but many of us draw or paint to have fun, relax and get away from the hectic real life sometimes. Whether you draw Japanese artwork, comics, paintings, realistic drawings, or maybe you just draw little stickmen, drawing is something not everyone has the opportunity to do, and yet by embracing the simple charcoal pencils, and blank pieces of paper, we can connect with people we've never met before, and we connect with our inner-self. 

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night! ☼

A Duck in a Cup

Fluffy Ducky in a Cuppy

Since it is almost Easter and to celebrate the first day of spring, I decided to post an Easter-y picture, which I drew for a wonderful friend of mine, to thank her for all she does in my life. And what better way to thank her, than by doing one of the things I do best! Drawing a picture for her! 

I gave the cup and saucer a bit of an Alice in Wonderland feel to it. I know that any little ducklings would not care what company they were in (even if that company is the March Hare and the Mad Hatter) as long as there was a slice of lemon cake, (or any cake at all for this matter...) would join the fun in a heartbeat. 

The Duckling, turned out better than I imagined! On many occasions I've attempted to draw a duck, or duckling, but for some reason, they have never worked for me, until now. When modeling the 'Fluffy Ducky in a Cuppy' after my own pet duck, (Tilly) I found having a reference made it a lot easier. 

The next piece of artwork, is an invitation I made to invite my friend over before she left with her orchestra to go to China, where the orchestra is going to preform. I'm very chipper my friend got such a wonderful opportunity to go someplace new and exciting! 

'Lemur' Invite you to a Party! (No Colour)

Obviously, there is a difference between this 'Invitation' and my 'Thank You' Picture above.

One, was visibly larger, possibly because it was. The 'Fluffy Ducky in a Cuppy'  was drawn on a sheet of white medium weight paper. Whereas, ~ 'Lemur' Invite you to a Party! ~ was a cut piece of paper, so it would fit in a envelope.  Alas, even with that careful planning, the card still came out too big for the envelope.

'Lemur' Invite you to a Party! (Colour)

As you can probably see, the Lemur now has a different appearance, a few lines which didn't stand out before now stand out magnificently. The Lemur, is not eating yellow snow, so put that thought out of your mind completely! 

The Lemur, is snacking on banana ice cream. The reason for the banana, ("Always take a banana to a party, bananas are good." ~The Doctor) since, my friend and I are Doctor Who fans, I figured she'd enjoy the connection. As well as the quote included on the inside of the card. 

As always, on my cartoons, I used my pens, Manga Pens- expensive they may be, but absolutely brilliant when it comes to cartooning. On colourization, I used colour pencils, nothing too special.

Sometimes I use paints, or digital painting, but it depends on what I decide will look best.

For now, I shall bid you all farewell, and begin work on my next masterpiece. :)

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night! ☼

The inventor of clockwork birds...and all that is Peculiar!

Stefan Bachmann- Style Chibi

So, one day whilst I was exceedingly bored, I began to doodle little Chibi people.

Chibi drawings are a very popular and has become a rather large fad, and I can see why, they make everyone and everything adorable!

*The actual term used for this style is referred to as SD which means Super Deformed, it is a specific style in which Japanese characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, stumpy limbs, sometimes no noses, round faces, often making a chibi person look young and childlike. This style forms an integral part of what Japanese and American anime fans refer to as Chibi.

My doodles, soon became people I knew well, like actors, and fictional book characters. It was only when I was attempting (without succeeding) to draw my orchestra members Chibi style, that I became aware of the fact one of my friends looked familiar...but not like someone I knew very well....

I couldn't put my finger on it, but the Chibi looked really, really familiar!

Then I saw a book on my shelf, titled "The Peculiar" I realized quite suddenly my little Chibi looked like none other than Stefan Bachmann!

Instantly I knew I had to draw a better Chibi of him! I put my orchestra picture aside, and set to work.

When I finished I was SO Happy! I was so awestruck with the sheer adorableness of the picture, for the rest of the evening I was filled with great ego.

The original picture before I added colour to it.

Before I go, I will say I did ask Stefan Bachmann's permission before I posted this on here. 

(Thank you Stefan!)

Stefan Bachmann is an excellent writer and has a wonderful personality, and if you haven't read his book you absolutely need to go and get a copy of The Peculiar now, because it is an excellent book! 

His sense of humour in The Peculiar is triumphant, with a strange new twist on fantasy, not to mention the amazing inventions, and you'll certainly be clutching the edge of your seat as you are transported into his brilliant masterpiece!

Stefan Bachmann also has a blog, which you may visit here: http://scathingjellyfish.blogspot.com/

You can also 'Like' The Peculiar's fan-made Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Peculiar/520857864609706?group_id=0

We all now await the next book by Stefan Bachmann, The Whatnot which is coming out later this year! Yay!! :)

 Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night! ☼

*Thank you Wikipedia!