WIP Rough

A rough, work-in-process preview of a new painting I'm working on. I'm really trying to improve on composition, lighting, and storytelling. I'll reveal the story once I'm done with it. I'll probably finish it up tomorrow or Tuesday. :)

I brought my bunny outside today...

As some of you may know, and as most of you may not know, I live with a bunny companion that I adopted from a rescue center. I've been living with her for about half a year now, and spoiling her like none other. I used to have an entire "craft" room to myself, where I kept my painting supplies, doll-making stuff, cintiq, and computer. Since saving this rabbit (quite literally, it turns out she was on the euthanasia list for the following week), she has just taken up my entire room. The floor is covered with her cardboard box tunnels, a cottontail cottage, little toys here and there, tons of hay, and of course, her 3-story condo that I built with my boyfriend.

ANYWAY. She's lovely, really. I don't mind sharing my space with her. She's been a real joy to have around (and occasionally a real sassy pain!). I happened by the pet store today and after briefly talking it over with my bf, we decided we would try purchasing a harness and a leash because we've noticed that my bunny (named Ramona Willow Flowers) really loves exploring. She's not much of a chewer or a digger, but just loves running around in new places. Just imagine what that would do to her to be outside for the FIRST time. What is that like for a rabbit? All those new sounds and smells - I thought that she would just love it.

So, that's what we did. We bought the harness, and agreed that we would take her out at around 4pm ... just so to not put her in direct sunlight. I live in California, so the weather is warm right now and the sun is just a-beaming. Putting her in the harness was a real struggle, I knew she would hate it. She kept trying to bite at the thing and running away when I went to pick her up. Eventually, I coaxed her into my arms with some treats, and then put her outside. She instantly took to it! Maybe she seemed a little freaked out at first, but after the first 5 minutes, she was obviously very excited and happy. I couldn't resist taking a video and putting some "cute" music with it. I thought that a Chrono Trigger soundtrack would do just nicely.

Without further ado, please watch the video because really, bunnies are just cute. It doesn't even matter that it's mine! She just melts my heart, really.

Unrequited Love

I need to get better at updating this thing :) There's just too many social media sites to keep track of now! This past weekend, I managed to finish another illustration that I'm actually quite proud of. I feel like this year is kicking off to a good start. I'm noticing that my work is improving, and that in itself is wonderful motivation to keep working at getting better.

It started out as an attempt at drawing something outside of my comfort zone, which would be a manly man burlesque type figure (i.e the centaur), but he kept getting smaller and smaller in my painting, until it became more of a story. Suddenly, this image was about a centaur chasing after his nymph love and trying to propose (I suppose before the satyrs got to her first?). Anyways, she has pretty much had enough of them trying to woo her, and scurries up into the trees to hide herself from their view.

I had a lot of fun with this painting, and I'm super excited that it only took about 2 days (off and on) to complete. I'm getting faster overall, though I need to definitely push myself further, and possibly do some anatomy studies. 

Let go...

A week ago, I lost my job due to the company's financial problems. It really sucks when something this life changing just comes out of nowhere and grabs you by surprise. I've been kind of struggling with it every day and not knowing what I should do next.

For now, I sketched this out really roughly today and then cleaned it up at the request of a friend (who said he'd buy it if I finished, yay!). For me, it's about trying to let go, and seek a new path.

Sailor Moon - お仕置きよ!

My interest in this anime has suddenly been revived out of nowhere, and I had to do my first fanart since middle school days ;)

There are some anatomy issues, & a messy paint job,

but I wasn't really too invested in it overall.

お仕置きよ!

2 Hour study

Here's a simple study I did tonight. I'm trying to start incorporating more textures and better compositions in my work. Here, i placed the figure off-center and used a generic texture brush to place some grunge. I'll keep working at it!

New Artwork: Summoning Dusk

I've taken quite a lot of my free time these past couple of weeks working on two large projects. Luckily, I was able to finish one of them! The other still has a way to go, but I'm going to need to do some smaller things before I continue with it. Large paintings really take a lot out of me. I get into this mode where I don't want to do anything but work on it, even if I'm struggling, tired, frustrated, or  have errands to run ;). I can sleep peacefully tonight, though, and thank goodness tomorrow is Monday so that I can calm myself down while at work and just take it easy without having to think about personal things!

I've had this idea in my head for a while about angels, and how they are usually depicted as humanoid characters. In my dreams, however, I've always been envisioning them as being made up of feathers, large and small, that cascade over their body. They live amongst the clouds, the stars, and the heavens, and I feel as though they should be a bit more ethereal and magical. I don't often think of them as having a gender, as they are celestial beings, and for this painting it was very important to me to try and capture an androgynous look. This was rather difficult, because I also envision angels without nipples or navels (because they aren't born, they're created), and the absence of breasts automatically gave him/her a masculine feel. I tried to slender out the arms, curve up the body, and make the face more female than male to try and counter this effect. I'm okay with how it turned out. 

I had a really hard time with the wings for about 3 days straight. I tried so many different versions, but I'm glad my boyfriend talked me into keeping my original vision (even if the anatomy might not make a lot of sense). 

Anyway, if it wasn't obvious, this lovely angel is a Summoner, one who brings forth the Night and Day. 

And also, for the first time ever... a video of my process! It's complete with my wing struggle steps, as well as a number from the AIR TV Original Soundtrack (the instrumentals were a charm to listen to while painting this!)