February '15 Sketchbook

Sketchbook time!! Yay! Tried out a few things with my oil pastels and watercolors this month. And went through a phase last Sunday where I drew several pages of tiny shape creatures. So yeah, a good variety of stuff to show off, which is how I like it. ^_^

onward and upward,

Bethany

Clyde the deer janitor

Guys, I am so super happy with how this piece turned out!!! It was one of those rare, glorious moments when everything came together to create exactly the kind of mood I was aiming for! ^_^ 

Back story time: The idea for this image started with a Facebook post my cousin Meredith wrote about "the enigmatic janitor Clyde" at her place of employment. It got me wondering about janitors and their sometimes mysterious natures. Which, in turn, sparked the thought, "Well, what if he's a deer and he doesn't want anyone to find out, so he works as a night shift janitor, where very few people will ever see him." The concept just sounded so cool that I had to draw it. 

As I mentioned earlier, one of my favorite things about this piece is the mood. It's like a scene that you've happened upon late at night when the florescent lights are stark, and everything feel surreal and otherworldly. The next morning, in the rational light of day, the idea of a graveyard shift deer janitor seems impossible and you doubt what you thought you saw, but at the time, it seemed plausible because you were tired and just accepted what was there without question. 

onward and upward,

Bethany

February Skill Building: Faces and Expressions

Spent some time working on faces and expressions this month. Some of them I really like; others feel a bit off. I definitely need to figure out how to push the expressions more in my drawings; they don't fully "feel" like the emotions I'm trying to capture. When drawing an expression, you often have to exaggerate and simplify your reference, not just copy it line for line. It's weird how that works; overemphasizing and leaving stuff out usually gives you something that feels more like the emotion you're aiming for. But enough ramble; on to drawings!

onward and upward,

Bethany

Fae Characters

I've been trying to draw more lately. I set a goal for myself to draw 150 pages this month! Crazy? Yes, but I'm up for the challenge. The by product of all this extra drawing is that more of the random stuff I draw is actually good. (Big shocker there, I know.)

Anyway, these are two drawings I did the other night of fae-type characters. (Fae being another name for fairy-like or fantastical creatures.) I thought about trying to ink them in, but since they turned out so nice in pencil, I opted to just leave them as is. 

onward and upward,

Bethany