She is here! The beautiful Mother Nature has arrived.
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Behance Story – Siren
She’s finally here! I hit a lot of blocks working through this project, but I kept powering through. Eventually everything just clicked. I am so excited with this final result. For a better colour quality image I recommend checking out my Behance project page.
Here she is:
Read moreBehance Story – The Fates
It’s here! My first Behance Story of 2022. I am so excited for this new plan I have set out for myself this year. It really gives me more room to explore certain projects and the elements within.
This month I decided to do the Fates. I have always been interested in this group of ladies and their dynamic. I drew a version of them back when I was in school as an idea for an alarm clock. If you don’t get up then they will cut the power to all of your electronics. The three of them working together has always provided a lot of visual opportunity in my mind.
Here’s their story for those who don’t know it.
The Moirai, or “those who allot”, are the three goddesses who assign destinies to mortals at birth. Clotho (the spinner) spins the thread, bringing it to life, Lachesis (the allotter) measures the length using her staff, and Atropos (the inflexible) cuts the thread with her abhorred shears. The sisters are described as stubborn, strict and unchanging.
So here they are: The Fates.
Read moreBeauties of 2021
Last year I gave myself an art challenge. I had really enjoyed the Inktober I did the previous fall and wanted to keep up the momentum. A drawing a day is something I knew I would burn out on, and I really wanted to get into some more in-depth pieces, ones I could really sink my teeth into. So I set the challenge of one larger piece per month. This was the start of what evolved into the Behance Beauties for 2021.
If you were following here last year you saw most of the ladies being posted one at a time. Some are more general in topic, others more specific, I let the ideas come to me as they would apply to my mood, the month, or a style I wanted to explore.
A project like this really does a lot of things. First, the main goal, it pushed me to really work on a piece and to get at least one piece done each month. My style was also pushed here, along with how I used the software and tools to get to the final result. I did add to my tool set part way through, so that gave me even more to work with. All of these things pushed me to expand my skills. Seeing all of these Beauties back to back shows me the growth that I’ve made, and how everything I learned on each piece really pushed the next one even further.
I loved this so much that I will be continuing this into 2022. I have switched the plan though. Instead of Behance Beauties, we will be shifting to Behance Stories. I wanted to add some new elements to my pieces and push myself a little further in what I developed. You’ll see what I mean as I post the piece for January.
To see a little more of the process behind each piece, be sure to follow my Behance account. To see how each piece grows, make sure that you’re following me on Instagram and Facebook where I’ll be posting updates as they come.
What’s your art challenge for 2022?
July’s Project
The Paramore, July’s Behance Beauty, has gone live! You can find my project page here. If you have been watching my live streams, the subject matter isn’t going to be that much of a surprise, but I have done quite a bit of work since she was last out in public. If you haven’t been watching the live streams, check them out! I am going live every Thursday at 7PM EST, drawing all kinds of different digital art.
Anyway, I got sidetracked, here she is! I really enjoyed playing around with the different patterns this time. Trying out the different texture for the under part of the skirts was a lot of fun. I don’t know if I 100% what I was hoping for, but I definitely got excited when I saw what came out of the trials.
I do know that her overall mood is definitely what I was going for. Just chillin’ at the end of some sort of show or party. Doing her own thing. I am so happy with how this came out.
June’s Project
Whew! What a week. Don’t worry, she’s here. This month’s Behance Beauty! Check out my process here.
I finished this beauty last night. She was done. I went to go do my uploads, and two hours of work was gone. Just gone. Like I hadn’t been drawing the perfect jewelry for the past hour. UGH! It’s all ok. Lessons were learned, I am still really new to the iPad app. We’re good. I did lose some of the depth that I thought I had yesterday, but I think that overall she has come through really well.
This was my first shot at dramatic lighting. As soon as she decided (yes…!) that she wanted to be in the dark, I knew that this would be a whole new challenge for me. Lighting is not something that is a super strong point for me. I understand it, but I rarely apply it for too much depth in my pieces. Usually it’s a drop shadow of sorts to get my paper cutout look. Here there needed to be a different level. I did a lot of research, my Pinterest is full of reference material, and overall I am really happy with how she came out in the end. There is always room for improvement, but I am really proud of this first attempt.
This lady looses a little bit of the paper cutout feel that I am usually including in these pieces. You can see it in her hairband, and the cloth around the table a bit, but that’s it. I don’t think that that is a bad thing though. The lighting just takes more of a leading role here. I do think a full on paper cut out piece with this kind of lighting would be awesome! Gotta wrap my head around that one first. Please hold. She does make up for the lack of paper cutout with movement though, whew!
Overall, I am very proud of how this beauty came out. I already have a super different idea for next month and I am getting the ball rolling right away. For those of you that would be interested, I am going to try some live streaming while I develop this month. My file issues put me off schedule, but I am going to try to go live this Thursday, if not, next Thursday. Follow me on Facebook or Instagram to get the details.
Thanks so much for dropping in today!
June Update
Where did June go? It was right here! Le siiiiiiigh. What a world.
I tried to focus this month on getting the socials moving a little more. I focused on posting a little more frequently. I figured out how to schedule posts, so now I am trying to build content for those posts. And I am trying to get a little more traffic through my Behance account through live streams and project updates. It is a lot of behind the scenes right now, but I promise there is a lot coming. I am feeling a lot more energized lately, and I just want to be creating all of the time.
I did my first live stream by accident the other day. True story, you can watch the stream here. When looking at the process on my computer I found that it was something I was really going to have to sit with and set up properly. I was on my iPad working on this month’s Behance beauty the other day and thought “What happens if I push this Go Live button”, what happens? You go live, almost right away haha. Before I knew it I was in the middle of my first stream! So now almost every non-work minute is going into how I can schedule things like this into my creative week. Once I have a plan and a schedule I will be sure to post it on all my platforms.
Other Creative News…
I have been working through the iPad apps that Adobe has to offer. Fresco is insane, I can actually paint on my iPad. Just nuts. It also creates a time-lapse of your project. You are all going to be so sick of watching me draw things.
I have also been working on the last few pages of my current sketchbook, so I am getting ready to get the next one started. That is always an exciting time for me. You’ll definitely see some more of that the next week or so.
Another really cool thing I did this month was teach an art class to my sister’s students who are in online learning right now. We all drew a mouse together! It was so much fun to be a guest in their class for the afternoon, and they had so much fun! I would definitely be up to do something like that again 🙂
In the Knitting World…
I finished off a project that I was knitting adjacent to friends of mine who were doing a Mystery KAL. That is just blocking on my living room floor now, so more on that to come.
I took part in Knit in Public Day – Little Red Mitten Style (a week later to allow for following of rona restrictions). A few groups of knitters joined the event out in the parking lot. Everyone was social distant, but it was a lot of fun to see some of the Zoom friends in person. It was also nice to be back in the store again. Seeing the colours in person cannot be replaced.
I am in the middle of a few projects right now. Now that I have finished the above shawl, I am able to get back to a sweater that my Mom requested. It is going to be soooooooo cozy, I can’t take it! So I am working on that, and all the socks. I can’t get enough socks lately.
Other things I enjoyed in June…
- RuPaul’s All Stars and Drag Race Down Under – I’m obsessed.
- Inkmaster – My creative TV watching until it was removed from Prime, le sigh (now replaced with RuPaul)
- One by One by Ruth Ware, and Tamora Pierce books. I was in a biiiig reading slump this month. I think that I picked up four or five books this month that got put down right away. I finally got to these and I am back in the groove. Just in time for the Outlander Marathon I have planned for myself (one Outlander book per month will get be caught up in time for the new book at the end of November).
- 19-2. A friend recommended this and I. CAN’T. STOP. WATCHING. IT! (on Crave in Canada)
- The Friendship Onion. Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan have a podcast together and I am loving every listening minute.
- Smartless. A podcast with Will Arnett, Sean Hayes, and Jason Bateman. Need I say anymore?
I think that that is it. I am putting the finishing touches onto this month’s Behance lady and she will be introduced to the world next week. In the meantime, Happy National Indigenous People’s Month, Happy Pride, Happy you! I hope that you all have a wonderful rest of your week and we will be talking more soon.
April’s Project
Again, I am a little late with this one. Different reason this time. It wasn’t because I wasn’t motivated, or didn’t want to work on this. I worked on her every single day. It’s probably just easier if I show you.
Queeeeeeeeeen! Yes, Medusa! I have always loved the design potential that Medusa’s story had to offer. I am not a huge fan of snakes, but their potential in an illustration is undeniable.
Originally, I wanted to save her for a series of some kind (ladies of literature), so I didn’t put her in the queue right away. But the past couple of months were a little rocky creatively, and I got so excited about the idea of working out a Medusa image that I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. I worked on this project every day this month, and I loved every minute. I learn from each of my pieces, but I really learned a lot from this one. I feel like this one pushed my file setup and style a little further.
I am beyond happy with how this beauty came out. To see better colours, check her out at my Behance site. Happy May all!
February’s Project
Well, February was a creative time, I tell ya. I had a few blips when it came to feeling even remotely productive in this area. Luckily, I was able to work through it and come out the other side (a couple days late) with a new Behance beauty for you all.
Here she is!
You can see all my progress and better colour over here.
The part I got stuck on the most was the composition. I wanted her to be a mermaid, but I really wanted to do a piece that focused in on her face and hair. How does one show that she is a mermaid without featuring the tail that makes her a mermaid? I worked through it and got a few ideas on paper. It was a struggle that took most of the first half of the month, and probably a big factor in my loss of creative steam. It’s really hard to get a sketch to direct itself when you have no idea what you want it to look like even a little bit in the end. Definitely a reminder to work out the ideas on paper, rather than waiting for the perfect one to pop into my head.
I tried doing a lot more with the paper patterns than I did for last month’s ballerina, so I had ran into a few snags trying to keep the final product from blinding us all. I also tried a few new layering techniques that I want to work through on the next project. I also had a full green and teal theme in my head for this while I was developing the sketch, but I loved how the ballerina came together so nicely that I thought I would keep the theme going. Plus, most mermaid are green and teal. She is not most mermaids!
Anyway, that is my February project. We had a bit of a time, but I am really happy with how everything came out on the other side.
Now, off to percolate some ideas for this month! Happy March readers!
My First Behance Project!
When I “went” to Adobe MAX last year there was a lot of talk about Behance. I had never heard of or used this product before, so I went and did some more research. Basically, it is a portfolio website, and it is mostly used to share work that is done with the Adobe Suite of products. It is a wonderful site where you can find photography, graphic design, product design, live streams, everything. I have only scratched the surface so far, but it is full of amazing work.
I wanted to play the game right away. But as I was just diving back into my art at the time, I realized that I didn’t have a lot of current digital art that I could share. At the time I was also finding that a lot of my work was done in a single sit down. I am super proud of them, but what would they be if I had spent more time on the final result? So I took all of these things and combined them into one goal. Starting in the new year I decided to create a new digital piece for my Behance account each month. You heard it here, now I have to do it 😉
It’s February now which means that I should have a project to share right? Right?!?! You have all seen my progress on my Facebook and Instagram pages, so yes… I do! Here she is…
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Hues & Tones 