New art! Finally!

Forgive me everyone. For a while, I've been in an artistic slump. There's no excuse. I take total responsibility. But taking total responsibility for it is what has brought me to the most productive year I've had in some time. Maybe even in a decade.

Calysta Johnson

I've found my muse and she isn't the fairy-like spirit or some elusive Greek minor goddess. She doesn't hide in my closet or perhaps even the sweltering confines of the family attic. She lives in me. She is my own determination. She is my own skill and passion. She is me.

Water Spirit

And because she is me, there are no more limits, no more excuses. I have worked hard to achieve the level of skill I have now and I have many more levels to reach. I have so much to learn and accomplish. There's a lot I want to do before I reach the big 4-O. And I know I can reach it, but only if I believe in what my muse can show me.

New art has arrived!

Have some Juri from Street Fighter!

Drawing faces the Loish way. =D

There was a fabulous tutorial recently commissioned by the people behind the drawing program Sketchbook and drawn by the super talented Loish. (How I love her artwork!!) While in it she does work solely in Sketchbook, the techniques can easily be applied to Photoshop or a myriad of other programs.

tutorial - drawing a female face by loish on DeviantArt

Here is my sketch after going through it:

This is one of the greatest things I love about being in the digital age. You have so many resources to pluck from that learning is a cakewalk. There are no excuses these days for not furthering your knowledge of your art. Let's do this thing!

Training in Restraint or Uncomfortable

As an artist you sometimes have to get out of your comfort zone. And sometimes you have to drag your creative mind kicking and screaming out of its comfort zone. For me and my reluctant mind it was inking. I ink with pen all the time. I even ink with japanese nibs. But doing anything with the dreaded brush scares the crap out of me.

My hand is very unsteady. I never remember where to vary my lines. I have to restrain my urge to press down with the tip. Where is the light coming from? Did I put my shadows on both sides of the figure? *panic attack* Where's my paper bag?

But then I was inspired by the art of alice-bobbaji on DeviantART and her incredible ink and watercolor work.

Incredible artist that I would fly to France to learn from.

You will accomplish anything if you don't at least give it a try. So I whipped out my trusty brush pen and did. (A brush pen, I feel, is a perfectly acceptable compromise between a paintbrush and an ink pen.)

 I will be trying more.

Capcom Fights!

I am notoriously late to the party. Many parties. I am many times physically late (but I'm getting better!) but most of the time I'm late learning about really neat events. Why did no one tell me about Udon's Capcom Fighting tribute?! And that they're open for submissions?! Now I'll have to spend the first part of January coming up with a fabulous piece to blow the judges socks off. :P Not a bad way to start off the year, IMO.

And you always have to warm up before a fight, so here goes.

Ehh....

Not everyone's on their A game all the time.

I think I should be diagnosed with artistic ADD. I'm supposed to be working on another comic, but my mind flips to this.

A runaway princess who doesn't want to become queen. I sketched her mother but hated the face. Now.... back to real work.