MuddyParasol's Art Stuff

MuddyParasol

I've been lurking for a while now and finally got the courage to post my amateurish stuff. I've started drawing some time last year. I work mainly with traditional media and will sometimes tweak them in Inkscape or CS5. I'm a hobbyist, drawing for the fun of it, but I do have daydreams of eventually becoming a children's book illustrator. I'm signing up for a drawing class this spring and am really looking forward to it.

I've used either live or photo references for all of these drawings.

Realistic:














Stylized:






I have a LOT of work ahead of me and I'm looking to improve. I work at a library so books are my bread and butter. I've just finished all the exercises in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and I own most of the books I've found mentioned here, but am always looking for more suggestions to add to my reading list.

I've gotten good at making sure I draw every day, but when I get home, I'm tired and it's hard to motivate myself to draw the challenging stuff. Instead I end up drawing more stylized stuff because it's easier. I think this is the main reason I haven't improved as fast as I'd like to. I need to push myself harder.

Any advice and crits are more than welcome. Tear 'em up! I know I need to improve across the board, but any advice on what I should especially focus on at this stage is greatly appreciated.

winter_combat_knight

Nice work so far MuddyParasol! Hope you keep at it. Not much point in critiques at the moment since you're starting out, but just remember to really 'look' at your subjects and reference photos. When starting out, its very easy to fall into bad habbits. Take your time too - no point in rushing this stuff.

Haha. love the profile pic on your 'about me' link

Arden Canelo

Draw as much as you possibly can every day and from life more than your imagination. That's what the wise ones say to doooo. Maybe not every waking hour, but draw a lot~! I want to see you improve!

MuddyParasol

Thank you both! I'm definitely gonna keep at it every day.

I'm glad you got a kick out of my profile pic. It was taken up near the Mackinac bridge a day before my crew and I kayaked across to the other shore and back. On one side the Governor helped me pull my kayak ashore and later that day we were chased by the coast guard (they didn't approve of our shortcut, but we out ran 'em). That was one crazy day!