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Stuff & Nonsense... mostly Nonsense [NSFW]

13

Posts

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    I think these are all turning out great. The hedgehog is next level cute.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Personal project interrupted by a save-the-date commission. Here's the sketch she picked and what I've done with it so far. Feels like I'm losing the charm, and I got super-frustrated trying to make their poses work, even after shooting some reference. Any ideas??

    sketch-5-web.jpgjuliaampmatt-web.jpg

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    His feet being splayed out was kinda cute, and I think that her dress may need a little more complexity to give a clue as to how her legs sit underneath it. Otherwise I think its looking pretty charming still.

  • m3nacem3nace Registered User regular
    Yeah it's pretty darn cute as is right now. Maybe what detracts from it is how clean and calculated all the lines are, inking it more with your hands than your eyes will probably negate that. Are you gonna ink it by hand or digitally?

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Okay, I'll try to add some more info to the dress and fix the feet. Inking is a mystery to me, and I don't really do it. My process right now is just to take the graphite drawing and paint under it then eliminate most of the lines.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Thanks for the feedback, guys! I think they turned out okay and I had a great time working on them. I am feeling pretty demoralized at the fact that I charged $200 for this and spent a little over 50 hours working on it :( Either I am really, really slow, or way underselling myself. Probably both. I really want to be a professional and this is stuff I need to start figuring out.

    t2egzxhnjwlm.jpg
    asov50l1yvih.jpg

  • tapeslingertapeslinger Space Unicorn Slush Ranger Social Justice Rebel ScumRegistered User regular
    I think a certain part of doing this sort of thing as a career is burning a few hours early on to learn how your workflow can be streamlined. It sucks, but it's hard to come up with an objective alternative.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    That makes sense. Hopefully it's just an initial time investment that will pay off eventually. But there's still this fear of not getting any faster and never being able to hack it.

    Speaking of workflow, I started the Ctrl-paint exercises not too long ago and learned some useful things. I should probably continue those (and maybe go back and review, too).

    basicshapes.gif
    shapes-1.jpg
    shapes-2web.jpg
    polygon.gif
    apple.gif
    blending2t-web.jpg


  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    Nice exercises. Can you link them? @BrushwoodMutt should do these

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Absolutely. For @BrushwoodMutt or anyone else, these are a really great free resource:

    The site is Ctrl+Paint

    I just started in the tutorial library and went in order. The videos are really helpful, then the files for the exercises are linked at the bottom.

    Layers

    Brush Control Pt.1
    Brush Control Pt. 2
    Brush Technique: Blending
    The worksheet on that one isn't available on the site, but you can find it here:
    cs620617.vk.me/v620617889/b75f/M0EpU37PjfE.jpg
    Paint Blending Practice

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Guess I lied... sometimes I do ink stuff!

    The bride & groom decided they wanted a bunny logo they could make into a stamp for their envelopes and such. This is SO not what I know how to do, but the drawing part sounded fun so I took a crack at it. Still considering doing a hand drawn frame. Also still waiting for them to get back to me on the type options. Advice welcomed.

    bunnytype-web.jpg

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    A cousin-in-law and her work buddies. Really struggled with this one, but I think I don't hate it anymore.

    marenampfriends-finalweb.jpg

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Someone wanted an owl for her little girl, so here's what I came up with. She asked for purple, pink, and turquoise. Can't say I'm too happy with how I've handled them.

    owl-web.jpg

  • charlesartistcharlesartist Artist and Game Developer CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    I like the feather textures in the owl. Also the focus on the eyes is strong.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    edited June 2015
    Thanks, charlesartist!

    This is the 4th illustration I've done for this religious children's magazine. They pay really well, so I keep trying to wow them into giving me more regular work, but it feels like I just choke and stumble over myself every time. Wish now I'd shared some of the process and tried to get feedback.
    sisters.jpg

    beckerskulls on
  • tapeslingertapeslinger Space Unicorn Slush Ranger Social Justice Rebel ScumRegistered User regular
    I think you're self-editing a little too much-- the composition is really clear and has a narrative.
    the only thing I'd tinker with is the expressions? The girls' eyes seem like... a little too relaxed. The girl in blue in particular, her smile doesn't quite match her eyes. It's not something I'd beat yourself up over though, if they like it well enough to buy it without sending it back to you a zillion times, you're already a step ahead.

    Additionally, if you nail your deadlines and hand in work that is that polished, I'm sure you'll rise to the top of the ol' Rolodex purely on merit. Not making deadlines is way more likely to push you out of contention.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Thanks, tapeslinger. I agree with your crit.

    Looking back, I've been pretty self-critical lately. Got to keep it cheerful on social media and even with my husband (who gets mad when I'm down on myself), so it's like the AC has become my final dumping grounds for negativity. Guess the next step is to actually change this way of thinking.

    A friend of mine did this awesome little comic recently which I think is good advice for anyone. I'm going to try to apply it.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    edited June 2015
    Basically, I wanted to make something pretty for my sister.
    sleepingirl-web.jpg
    [Update: added some warmth to her face]

    And, when it feels like I'm not getting anywhere with figure drawing practice, I can look back at the 5 year old doodle this is based off of:
    sleepinggirl-old.jpg

    While I didn't use any reference or spend forever on this older version, it's probably safe to say I'm making some progress.

    beckerskulls on
  • tapeslingertapeslinger Space Unicorn Slush Ranger Social Justice Rebel ScumRegistered User regular
    I absolutely love the storybook rustic and more dreamlike quality of the new one... And a good example of why it is useful to look back at old work, not only to see progress but to steal ideas from yourself that you can execute with much more confidence than you might have done back then.

  • m3nacem3nace Registered User regular
    Have you thought about submitting a book for Nobrow? This last one is straight up their alley.

  • GreathouseGreathouse That's my name AtlantaRegistered User regular
    With the two women talking to the dude image. You have a line leading from the girls chin to her ear. If you got ride of that line, they won't as old or like a barbie dolls. You did it with the guy though and he looks more natural. The more lines you put on women, then older they look. Guys, you can put a thousand lines on them and won't matter.

    I really like the image of the girl laying in the field but what is your subject? Pick a part of the image you want the reader to keep looking back at. If you made her lips lighter and warmer, I bet this thing would pop. Over all amazing work though! Can't wait to see more.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Thanks, @Greathouse. I did add some warmth to her face and make a few other changes. Will post later.

    @m3nace I hadn't heard of them but looked them up and they are doing some gorgeous stuff! They're definitely on my list now.

    Here's a doodle dump and some figure stuff.

    doodle-compilation1.jpg
    doodles-1.jpg
    figurepractice-37gestures.jpg
    figurepractice-38.jpg
    figurepractice-39.jpg
    figurepractice-40hands.jpg
    figurestudy-9.jpg

  • acadiaacadia Registered User regular
    This is all so confidently (and well) done. All the anatomy and gesture is very well observed, and the only thing I can pick out that seems weak at all are your noses. I always hesitate to give criticism to those that I can see are much better than me, and I don't even know if I can put my finger on why I feel like your noses need work, but I think your work would really benefit from a good nose-study. I dunno. All this stuff looks great, anyway!

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Thanks @acadia! I appreciate the crit. I've been pushing general anatomy + hands and feet for a while now because that's where I feel the weakest - but have basically been neglecting the head and facial features (which isn't good). I'll try to get some noses in there soon.

    Firmly in the Nonsense category - I totally jumped on the Sketch Dailies twitter bandwagon for their 'meet the artist' prompt. It was fun.

    meettheartist.jpg

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    That is adorable!

    Really nice seeing your sketches, the hands are beautiful. Hand studies are something that I've been meaning to get on.

  • lyriumlyrium Registered User regular
    That illustration for your sister is beautiful! It's easy to get down on yourself but you should be very proud of how your work is paying off.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Thanks, @Iruka and @lyrium!

    Yet another cousin is getting married, and here is her invite (in progress). Anything weird going on that I'm not seeing?

    leanneampjosh-wip-web.jpg

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    The line on his wrist makes for a bit of a articulated doll effect. His arm also seem to be at a weird angle for how close they are/how big be is.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Agreed... Sometimes I get a little lazy and say to myself 'maybe it's not actually that weird,' when it totally is. Hopefully this way looks more natural.

    leanneampjosh-finalweb.jpg

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    Much better!

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Okay, cool. Thanks!

    Here's the backside I ended up doing. Have I mentioned that graphic design is a huge mystery to me?? People don't seem to understand the difference and keep trying to hire me to do it. ...Sometimes I give in.

    back-web.jpg

    ...Please nobody crash their wedding.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    A house portrait commission:

    grandmashouse-ovalweb.jpg

    Been making a ton of business decisions, decided on the name 'Drawn by Becca,' and designed some business cards:

    bunnylove-web-small.jpgbusinesscard-james-web-small.jpgbusinesscard-pocak-web-small.jpg

    Also, did my first bridal fair! I was SO worried there wouldn't be anyone there in my demographic, but there ended up being plenty of quirky people looking for something a little different. Here's the flyer I made and a look at my booth.

    flyer-websmall.jpgflyerback.jpg
    12043138_812856288832003_2152790159719950925_n.jpg

    My #1 marketing guy/awesome husband doing all the talking because I suck at it:
    12049287_812857292165236_7763526561155034659_n.jpg


  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    I didn't even know bridal fairs were a thing, but that stuff looks great. The cards look really cute too, where do you get your stuff printed?

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Thanks! Yeah, I didn't know about them either. For some people, weddings are really a huge deal.

    The business cards were from Moo.com, my first order from them. The paper quality seemed really nice and I really like the rounded corners for this design. Everything turned out on the dark and dull side, though, so I'll have to adjust my files for that in the future. Also not the least expensive printing place, but since I don't really hand out hundreds of business cards, I feel like it's probably worth it.
    businesscard-photo.jpg

    The flyers I got from Vistaprint on recycled matte, my second order from them. Both orders turned out a little light and undersaturated, but otherwise pretty good. (Had a hard time photographing them and gave up.)

    For 'nice' prints, I use iprintfromhome.com. I really like the Somerset Velvet, which has a light watercolor paper sort of texture. I've ordered from them quite a bit and have been really happy with the colors. The prices are also really good compared to other places I've been looking at.
    mckellprint-web_1.jpg

    I'd definitely be interested to hear what other places people have tried that they'd recommend.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    WIP: first bridal fair job. They love astronomy!

    emilyampethan-web.jpg

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    Aw! Its adorable.

    His right leg is a little messed up right now, I cant read the position of it.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Yeah, I agree about the weirdness. Here's the reference I tried to use, and it's not that great. Time to take my own.
    138546210.jpg

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Update: tried to add a little more definition of the knee without adding too much more detail.

    web-final.jpg

    ref:
    knee%20ref.jpg

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    the problem is the angle that his leg is meeting up with his hip at. Look at the triangle that your ref has in the leg shape, try and replicate that.

  • beckerskullsbeckerskulls Registered User regular
    Ah, I thought you were talking about the other leg. I see what you mean now. The deadline is past, but here's a second attempt fix:
    emilyampethanupdated-web.jpg

    Thanks for the feedback!

    Another little commission. On one level, I feel like this is not the highest quality I can put out - something to work on. On another, it's exciting to have my calendar start to fill up with actual paying work, and to start getting commissions from people who are not friends or family - word of mouth, y'all!

    metcalfs-web.jpg

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