Monday Sketches - Just Keep Drawing

I've officially decided that Monday Sketches will be an every-other-week segment until further notice. Life's been pretty crazy as of late, so remembering to keep at it with a weekly post is not as easy right now. 

This week, I have a few school assignments to share with you, and some personal projects that have stemmed from the fact that my Midpoint Review was not approved. 

It sucks when something you've worked hard at is (essentially) rejected, but after a couple of weeks of fretting and worrying, I think I'm starting to think a little more clearly about it. In the end, I just have to keep drawing and keep working - and I'll get there. Like Dory says in Finding Nemo: 

Just Keep Swimming!!

Image from http://blogs.disney.com/oh-my-disney/2013/06/26/the-best-dory-quotes/

Without further ado, here is the art for the week!

My next big Advertising Illustration class assignment is creating an Ad based on a genre. Being the big Jane Austen fan I am, I chose Regency Romance as my theme. I sketched out a few thumbnails, and the instructor ended up choosing number 4 as the best one to work from.

After taking some photos for reference, I managed to piece together my images to create a final sketch/tonal drawing of the image in Photoshop. I think once I start throwing in color and playing with media, this will turn out to be a really nice image. I'm thinking either watercolors or gouache would do nicely, as long as I don't focus too much on the linework. Last time I focused on line, it ended up in a not-so-great grade. No fun! 

For Interactive Illustration class, we're starting to build the environment for our character. For my fortune teller, I placed her in a run-down room filled with odds and ends to bring back the Steampunk quality to the image. Astrological signs, tarot cards, drapery and electric lights all pull everything together. Looking forward to starting to create this in Adobe Illustrator!

Butterflies are one of my favorite things in the world, and after playing some in Adobe Illustrator I decided to make a fun, light hearted image with lots of these little guys! 

Playing with media and styles here with this fashionable lady. My husband challenged me to combine a couple of art styles, and his suggestion really has helped me with understanding and coming to terms with the rejection from my Midpoint Review. His support has been invaluable this entire time, and I'm so thankful for him!

In this image, I used a reference I found on the internet and just drew. I did a lot of crosshatching and shading, and the end result was a lot of fun! I might try experimenting with it some more. 

 

One of my favorite artists is Duane Bryers, who created pin-up art of this adorable and fun-loving character, Hilda. She's a chubby, chunky ball of energy whose every illustration is colorful, sexy, and exudes confidence. It's this character that helped me with finding a voice as a Body Positive artist. In this image, I copied an image of her to get a feel for the vignette style art that's so common in Pin-Up drawings. It was a lot of fun, and I hope to do more - only with my own characters!

You can find out more about Hilda and see more of Bryer's paintings at this blog post here.

That's all for now, until next time!

Monday Sketches - Catching Up

Things have been so hectic lately, I haven't had a chance to do Monday Sketches all month! Depending on how my schedule goes in the near future, this segment might become a Monthly thing rather than Weekly.

So without further ado, here is an image post of all the stuff I've done in the past month or so, so enjoy!

Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel is my current all-time favorite super-heroine right now! She's awesome, so I had to draw her, naturally. Ms. Marvel was specifically commissioned by a friend of mine. You can buy products with these illustrations on them at my Society6 store here.

Working on expanding the subjects of my personal advertisement projects. My Thesis Review is coming up soon, so I needed something to add to my portfolio! Took some references from the internet and sketched and rendered everything in Corel Painter 2015.

School's been keeping me busy, so here's a look at my latest project - an advertisement for Whitman's Chocolates! The first image is a couple of color studies, the first one being what I went with. The completed image was done in watercolor, pencil, and pen, then digitally enhanced. I added the slogan and the Whitman's logo to complete the Ad. 

NFYW had lots of fun and amazing things to offer! I wish I could have done some more sketches, but these definitely made me very very happy. <3 I was so happy to see plus size models walking down that catwalk for Project Runway!

In addition to fashion sketches and advertising illustrations, I also dabble with Medieval illuminations from time to time. Here's an example I did a few weeks back, based on a manuscript featuring St. Michael and the Dragon.

Being a Body Positive advocate, I felt that this older illustration of mine needed a bit of a pick-me-up! Loving the #AllSizesMatter campaign idea. I might do more of these! You can buy prints of these gals at my Society6 store here.

One of my other graduate classes is an Interactive Illustration course, where I'm developing a Dress-up Doll Game. My character is a Steampunk Fortune Teller, and boy I tell you vector illustrations are a challenge! I've been learning a lot, however, and I look forward to seeing how this project turns out. I've included the sketches, the flat colors, and the finished rendered character. 

Finally, a quick look at a sketch from a previous event I attended at LaCenterra of Cinco Ranch. Had a lot of fun!

Hope you enjoyed the return of Monday Sketches! I definitely will try to update more often with more art and illustrations! 

Until next time!

Monday Sketches - School and Miscellanea

Sorry it's been a bit quiet around the blog lately! School just started back up and my husband and I have begun house hunting in full swing! Anyways, I have a few things to show you! 

These two lovely ladies are different sketches that I worked on about a week or two ago. The one on the left is directly influenced by the fashions and accessories from Charming Charlie's! I love their stuff, and adore the mod-chic look that I drew here!

The second was based on a photo I saw in passing of a plus sized lady in a beautiful yellow gown. Inspired by the color, I added a Mucha inspired Mandala as well.  

Since school started up again for me, it's only fair that I share my projects with you! This week we had to develop a few thumbnails. I'm taking Advertising Illustration, so I'm confident this class will directly help me develop my thesis ideas more coherently. 

In this image, I've developed an Ad for Whitman's Chocolates under the slogan I penned as "Have a Girl's Day IN." I'm hoping this project turns out well!

 These last two images are quick sketches I did while at an event I attended last week! Don't worry, I'll be posting all about that soon enough, hopefully by mid-week or so.

The fashions seen here are based on the Technical Cashmere pieces seen at Kit and Ace, a fun, quirky little store in Rice Village here in Houston. Lovely stuff that looks comfortable, and I hope someday comes in Plus Sizes!!

That's all for now, until next time!