Nicolae (with and without coat)

I'm terrible over breaks, okay? Sorry about the lack of updates. I did draw something, though, so I'll post that. I also drew lots of people on the subway, but I haven't gotten a chance to scan those yet. But I have a good excuse for being away--I got engaged over Christmas. So! That's a good excuse for anything.

Here's one drawing, to make up for the lack; he's a new DnD character, a sorcerer named Nicolae. Two different versions; with and without coat.

Vectoons Three Through Five (one of them is a plate of cupcakes)

Yeah, I mean it's actually a plate of cupcakes, not a vector of a plate of cupcakes. Yesterday I didn't have time to do a vector because I was making those, and then we went to the NYC ASPCA and got ourselves a cat--the subject of the third vector. And the first was inspired by a shop between the apartment and the subway stop, where they sell some seriously bright wigs. I would look odd in one.

Vectoon One (Xanthe)

So, I'm embarking on a little mini-project for myself over winter break. You see, I rarely draw much over breaks, and that is a real shame. But I also won't have a scanner, so I can't practically sketch-and-scan while I'm gone. So I've decided to do a little vector-cartoon (or Vectoon, if you like) every day while I'm on break. They may be incredibly simple. They may come from my sketchbook, or they may not. This one didn't, I just kinda winged it.

I like working in vectors, but it's hard to make flat shapes distinct, so this will also further my goal of developing a worthwhile and useful working style in vectors that will be entirely my own. Commentary on these pieces will be greatly appreciated, as vectors are eternally editable and these will mostly be simple enough to really get into some in-depth tweaking on. Be brutal.

First up is one of my DnD characters, probably the first of several to be done this way. This is Xanthe, who holds a special place in my heart; she's a centaur, duh, level 12 equivalent. Mostly ranger with her last level in barbarian, hence the sudden switch to breastplate armor.

Tatanka (modified munny)

Yes! I even did an art final for Toys! He's been in the works a long time, too, but I'm proud to unveil my newest vinyl toy... Tatanka! He started life as a mini munny. I chopped him in half (his back legs are the original munny legs, I sculpted the front ones), pounded nails into his head, and boiled him in a pot of water in five-minute increments. I may post some in progress pictures later on, but for now I want to get him out there in all his native american biker glory! Materials include Super sculpy, Katsilk saran hair (original brunette color), Model Master acrylic paints, and Testor's enamel paints.

The Crane Wife

I only got three prints done, but I had a lot of planning work behind my book project. So here's what I turned in at the final; three prints, two of them in page mock-ups along with the little page number illustrations that no one understood until I did these pages in full. There are little errors here and there, but I'm happy with the images and I think the book as a whole has a lot of potential.

Senior Thesis Finals

I think I posted one of these in progress...? Well, these are the finals. The only final pieces I have coming out of my first semester--though I did seven pieces' worth of work. The first three, you see, I drew, digitally painted, made backgrounds for.... and then scrapped everything except the linework. I wasn't happy with the way they were coming out, and knew that for both my portfolio and myself I needed to be truly proud of the finished work. So I started over. I used the same lines, but the second time through I treated each creature to a lot more hand work. I did all the rendering with a pencil and a magnifying glass--no lie! They're all fully furred where appropriate, it's just hard to see at this size. The prints are gorgeous. The backgrounds were completed on separate pages, also in pencil, and then everything was compiled and given flat colors in photoshop. The result? Something I'm proud to call my work.

Illusionism Final

This is a companion piece to the one I posted before I fell off the earth, which I completed as my final project for Illusionism. Usually I only go through a few sketches before I find the piece I want to finish, but this was a special case. The composition and idea came out in the first sketch, but it took 23 pages of drawing before I got the pose down to convey what I wanted through body language. Thankfully, if anyone in my class didn't get remorse from the figure, they didn't say anything.

Finals: Seminar

WOW, I'm terrible at updates this semester! Due to it coming to and end, though, I finally have time to post all the things I've been neglecting to post. First up will be all my finals--these are my business card, short bio, and letterhead designs from my Senior Thesis Seminar. I'll be uploading all my finals work over the next few days, so keep an eye out!

Further Illusions

More from Illusionism! The drawing on the left was a one-night in class exercise about the appearance of volume, in preparation for this week's model session. Mine got picked as one of the ones that looked most round, though I kinda cheated by picking a real light source.




Next, the two week drawing that proceeded it. While doing the Dallas Allegory for homework, this trompe l'oeil was our in class work. I themed it around Meg and my anniversary, which was coming up with gleeful speed when I started the drawing. Both of those are graphite.

So this week, the homework was to start a piece that contrasts illusionistic volume against something else--so I thought to myself, what is the absolute opposite of shaded, volumetric drawing? The answer was obvious. Nothing can be flatter than flat vector cartoons. Nothing. So this is the halfway point; the flat is done, and the space is there for a volumetrically shaded Dunny toy in the foreground! That'll be my task next week.

Dallas Allegory

This new tablet (Intuos4 Medium) is amazing. And it's really late at night. And that's all I have to say right now, ask specific questions if you want more and I'll answer them when I'm awake again.