Back from Hiatus (plus a guitar!)

Hello everyone! I'm back from hiatus and (hopefully) ready to start up a regular posting schedule! Taking the time off was really nice and I think I need to do it more often, (although probably not for a full five weeks.)

One of the things I worked on while on break was "fancifying" a guitar! My friend Brandon had this old guitar he wanted to use as decoration, so he asked if I'd be interested in sprucing it up a bit. I agreed and after some experimentation, found that I could sketch in some really cool, abstract shapes that fit together in an organic way. (It actually took a lot of trial and error (and erasing) to come up with the right shapes and composition.) 

Here's the finished designs done in pencil. (Sorry I don't have a picture of the guitar before I started drawing on it; I never seem to remember to take "before" pictures...=_=)

Once the design was finished, I traced over my pencil lines with a gold paint pen, which took to the wood really nicely. Here are a few detail shots.

Here's the finished gold outlining. I knew I wanted to work in some white as well, so I outlined all the shapes again in white paint pen.

Here's what the guitar looks like with the gold and white outlines.

At this point, I faced a dilemma; should I leave the design as it was, or fill in the shapes with white paint pen? I asked a few different people for their opinions, then decided to try a combination of both ideas; fill in some of the shapes, and leave others as outlines.

Here, the guitar is partway through the fill in process. I really had to take my time and think about which shapes to fill and which to leave as they were.

And here's the finished product! ^_^ I'm really happy with how it turned out and Brandon really liked it, too! Having a project that focused on abstract shape fit in well with taking a break from my usual way of making art.

I also did a lot of sketching in my sketchbook on break and I'll be showing some of that next week. Till then!

onward and upward,

Bethany

Hiatus

Hey everyone! After some thinking and praying, I've decided to take a hiatus from these weekly blog posts. I've been working on some bigger projects lately and that's cause my weekly blog content to suffer. Hopefully taking a break from blogging will give me a bit of extra time to focus my energies on a few things, rather than trying to pursue too many opportunities at once. At this point, I don't know how long of a hiatus this will be; it could be a few weeks or it could be longer. Either way, I'll be sure to post here when circumstance change again! Till then, see you later!

onward and upward,

Bethany

Portrait of Japser

Got something fun to share today!! ^_^ A few months ago, my sister-in-law Amy asked if I would be able to do a portrait of her corgi Jasper. I agreed and over the past few weeks, was able to make some time to get it done. Here's how the final turned out.

Since this portrait didn't just spring fully formed from my hand (which I wish would happen ever...T_T), here are some of the less glamorous steps in the process. 

As usual, I start with exploration sketches that always look terrible to me because I haven't learned the shapes and proportions yet.

By this point, I felt I had a reasonable grasp on how to draw a corgi (and have it actually look like a corgi!). A seated pose seemed like the best option and I drew it a few times to make sure I had the details worked out.

I also did a few studies of Jasper's coloration and coat markings. Getting the eyebrows to not look evil/angry was tough. 

After that, I started the final drawing. Fortunately, this one came together in one try; sometimes I have to redo the final drawing several times before it's right. Then, with much fear, trepidation, and praying, I moved to the inking stage. The inking stage kicks up the pressure, because if you mess up the drawing, you have to start over. But I love the quality ink brings to a drawing, so I put up with the pressure. :-P (Also, I forgot to take a picture of the inked drawing. Sorry about that.)

And thankfully, the inking turned out well, so I moved to the watercolor stage. Watercolor adds yet another level of pressure/trepidation/praying, but again, I really love the end results.

The hardest part of coloring this particular portrait was getting the eyebrows right and getting the right level of shading. Shading adds so much dimension to a piece, but can also ruin it, which is very intimidating. (Hmm, I'm seeing a trend in all my artistic choices...) For this portrait, I kept things simple and I think it paid off. 

I'm really pleased with how Jasper's portrait turned out and Amy was very happy with it, too! ^_^

onward and upward,

Bethany

Artist at Work

Another shorter post for today. Since I'm working on bigger projects right now, my blog posts may be small for awhile. Or I might take a week or two off; haven't decided about that yet.

Anyway, this is a quick sketch from last year of a character whose story I'd like to tell some day. ^_^

onward and upward,

Bethany

Collage experiment

Short post for today. After a loooong hiatus from collage, I broke out all my magazine scrapes and made this little tree. I've been wanting to play around with collage and watercolor in a more illustrative manner and this seemed like a good place to start! Over all, I really like how it turned out! ^_^

onward and upward,

Bethany

Abstract painting

I'm going to share something a bit different today. I've been developing several story projects, which is very exciting, but very draining on creative energies. To combat that brain drain, I've found myself being drawn to forms of abstract painting. For me, abstract painting is about the act of guiding the paint rather than controlling it. There are still some decisions to make, but allowing the colors to mix and spread on their own is my main focus. And when you're knee deep in decisions about character, story structure, themes, and the like, it feels wonderful to sit back and let the paint do its thing.

(Watercolor washes I used for a project)

I have this huge canvas from college that I painted over and started working on. Right now, it sort of reminds me of a cluster of plants or flowers, but that might change.

I love the paths that oil paint takes when it's thinned down. It's like dozens of tiny rivers, all meandering and mixing together.

Abstract painting is kind of a subjective topic and I don't pretend to be an expert on it. These paintings may not mean much to other people, nor will they ever be grand and important masterpieces. But that's ok. For me, they are an act of letting go, of sitting back and observing, of embracing happy accidents. And if that's all they end up being, that's enough.

onward and upward,
Bethany

Character design studies: Little Crocagator

I've been doing a lot of story development lately, so I thought it would be fun to show some studies for a character I'm working on. He's a little Crocagator (Jon made up the word; it refers to anything resembling a Crocodile or Alligator). This character needs to be both cute and a bit mischievous/dangerous looking, which is a hard balance to strike.

I started off with some character doodles, got frustrated and did some reference studies, then went back to character doodles. 

I still have a ways to go with this character, but the process of getting to that final design is just as interesting as the final product. (Or so I keep telling myself to fend off frustration and impatience! ;-))

Onward and upward,

Bethany