I've learned so much! (start 2nd 2009)

... By creeping around the internet >.>
That probably sounds worse than it is, but I've been talking to people ALL OVER the world, and it is really, really neat.

~~
So, yes, today. Hm.

Today, I was supposed to have an "art day" with my friend. Of course, that usually means no art is done during the course of the day, and we manage to have fun without it. We were going to get a coffee and pretend to be artists, but we ended up having a driving adventure in the downtown area, which was far more exciting than it needed to be, before finding a parking space on one of the busiest streets. Fun.
We bought ourselves some tea and hot chocolate and got booted out of wherever we were, so we went to the mall and had an excellent chat about crazy people we haven't seen in years. In the middle of our chat the fire alarm in the mall goes off.
Everyone sits and stares.
It was much funnier than it should have been.
So we leave the mall, cups in hand, and wander around.
"Are you hungry?"
"...Yeah..."
So we went to eat. Before we could go into the restaurant, which has the most delicious Lebanese food, I had to chug the remains of my peppermint tea. The smell of mint has not left my nasal cavities.
While we were in the restaurant, my friend started talking to another person who she recognized. This lady looked very very familiar, but I could not place her. After watching me have difficulties pushing in a chair (...), my friend came back and we ordered/proceeded to eat our lunch.
Halfway through our meal, the other lady said good-bye and left.
No biggie.
Eventually we finish eating, laze around (as is customary), and get up to pay the bill.
"Your bill has been paid."
"...What?"
"The nice lady at the table next to you paid for you! Have a nice day!"
My friend looked confused. I looked confused.
Then we both said a collective "D'AWWWWWW....! That was sooo sweet!"
We didn't stop d'aww-ing  for the rest of the walk/ride home.
Thank you lady-who's-name-I-kind-of-remember-now! You made my day :)

~~~
Today marks the start of my 2nd 2009 sketchbook (white).
This one was started 8/24/09, and marks the start of my new life in PEI.

If the forehead was smaller, and if the head overall was smaller, this would be a pretty good person.

YES. I need to get back to this level of ability!

Sayaka, depressed. Experimenting with a different pose.

Hummingbird. If there was more detail in the green, I think it would have brought this to life more. I do particularly like how the flowers fade into the background, though.

 

Horses. Lots of horses. (partial view)

... Wait a second. That last one doesn't belong here! That was an entry that I submitted for a local show at the library in October 2011. I had originally planned to color it in, but seeing as I remembered about the show the night before entries were due, and drew this in about 3 hours in order to actually HAVE an entry, I think it's decent as is.
Derp.

No classes tomorrow...

... because switching into Arts ROCKS! No classes on Wednesdays or Fridays, so I have time to visit Willie and write/draw without sacrificing study time!
I'll probably continue to accumulate the science courses needed for admission to the AVC, but time will tell what my ultimate decision turns out to be.

As of today, I have several pictures on my "to do list" that I will draw ASAP. No worries, my friends!

Here's one of the requests, by the way:
"Hey Artiste!

I've heard you've gotten really good at drawing farm animals. I was hoping you could draw me a pig. Not a regular pig, but a fat disgusting SOB lying on its side in a puddle of mud with its mouth half-open. The perspective I have in my head is looking down on it from its belly and slightly back while its lying on its left side. If you could incorporate hyper-realism that would be awesome. I want to feel physically ill while looking at this thing. Tell me what you think.

Love,

Strange Older Brother"

I have NO idea what he means perspective-wise, but I sent this to him:

Further proof that computers and Artiste do not mix.

Is that a person inside the pig?

...Yeah...

Back to our regular programming!
This sketchbook is probably my least favorite of all time. It was started 20 April 2009, and was completed sometime in the end of June 2009. This was possibly the most stressful period of my life. I don't even like thinking about it.
Anyway, there appears to be a drastic change in style for, in my opinion, the worse. There are very few pages that somewhat redeemed my opinion of this book, but they are few and far between. For the sake of my personal pride, I only scanned in pages that I found acceptable for the "standard" I wish to maintain on this blog. Not that any of it is inappropriate; I just feel that the pictures are not refined enough to post and are, to put it bluntly, stupid.

I'm sure you've had enough of my snooty self analysis.
Moving on!

... How unlady-like.

As you can see, my skills in drawing anatomy went drastically downhill. :/

My cat Tevye sunning herself on the table.

Even my horse drawing skills suffered. I'm still trying to recover.

Another cat. This one is okay, I guess.

There are only about ten more, so this sketchbook will be a short one.

Also, I haven't forgotten about the Aeolus picture. I'm doing an exercise in patience pffft! so I don't make any stupid shading mistakes. At least, that's what I'm telling myself.

MOAR

Nice walk with Willie in the freakin' cold today. My only complaint about him is that he was kind of nippy today. We'll set that straight.

Also, no update last night because I went bowling in the afternoon (2 hours for free!) and then I went to my friend's house for gingerbread house decorating.
Now, you have to understand that "bowling for two hours" = "fun" = "OH GOD THE PAIN" the next day. Man, I'm out of shape. I did discover that I, a righty, actually bowl better with my left arm than my right. Weird, huh?
Anyway, after this bowling adventure I went to my friend's house, where I decorated with lots of candy. Sorry, did I say "decorated with lots of candy?" I meant to say "consumed a lot of candy."
Actually: "Ate so much candy/cookies/holiday cheer that when I woke up this morning I was suffering hangover-like symptoms."
I also have a sore throat from spending 4 hours telling/reenacting ridiculous stories to a unwilling audience. Heh heh. 












... Looking at this now, I realize that moving to Canada has turned me into a wimp. GAH.

Okay, pictures:

Trying for realism. You can see here a common flaw seen in many teenagers' art: the eyes. There is a tendency of teenagers to put extra emphasis on the eyes. This has been the case even before the introduction of manga/anime to the West. Pretty interesting, eh?

Unusual, but neat. This was based off of a picture of a Saddle Seat rider.

Horse on steroids, based off of one of my favorite horse models.

Accel. This picture is simple in composition, but the colors play off of each other well.  APPROVAL!

Dear god, Please never allow a horse that looks like this to walk this earth. Love, Artiste!

That is all for now. Please excuse me while I crawl up the stairs to my room in a most pitiful manner.


... Who the HELL gets this messed up from bowling and gingerbread?

Time off

I've only had one day of freedom so far, and I already feel like I'm going to go nuts if I don't find something to do. I suppose it's because my time was being taken up by schoolwork, as well as art in my free time. Now I have all sorts of great ideas and no way to work out a schedule because I'm not in school. I'll sit down to paint, and I'll suddenly go into panic-mode because I feel like I have assignments to do. Argh! I hope I get this nonsense settled before my vacation is over...

On another note, today I fell down the stairs and whacked my elbow really hard. It's been about 8 hours now, and the side of my hand is still tingly. I have some bruises on my back and my tailbone is a little sore, but I still start laughing like a maniac when I remember WHY I fell down the stairs.
I fell down the stairs because I was having a Science! day (basically my excuse for wearing a lab coat around the house) and I discovered that if you stick your earbuds in your nostrils and open your mouth you get an awesome stereo.
Please don't ask me how I figured that out...
Anyway, I figured that sharing is caring so I went downstairs to share my groundbreaking discovery with my dad when I lost my footing and slipped down the stairs (See: http://www.youtube.com/user/DudeCrushClaws?feature=guide#p/f/29/KedGncdV-T4 ). I then proceeded to laugh my ass off, scaring the hell out of my very concerned father, and making me laugh even harder.

I can't laugh at his reaction too much, though. I blacked out the last time I fell down a staircase. I couldn't see or hear anything, but my body picked itself up (and I think was muttering to my dad and my sister) and continued walking towards the next flight of stairs. Luckily, my hearing started coming back and I could vaguely hear people yelling my name and a really loud ringing; my eyesight also started coming back, first in gray-scale, then slowly filtering in as color bubbles. Very luckily, this happened just as I as put one foot down on the next step, thus preventing another fall down another flight of stairs. In conclusion, I am very grateful that my dad is a concerned parent and I try very hard not to scare him.
I could tell a bunch of other fun stories, but this is not "Crazy Ass Injuries and Stuff," so I will leave it be for now. :p

These pictures are from 2008, which would put me at 14-15 years old. This is still the upside-down sketchbook, but I guess I was having another one of my "Holy crap! What year is it?!" moments when I started this thing because some earlier pages say Nov. 2007, but the rest say Nov. 2008. Derp.

Everyone has a bad day!

MegaMan looks like a turtle, IMO. A cute turtle, nonetheless.

A drawing of InuYasha from memory. Possibly one of my favorites in this book.

Quite a difference from the first one, eh?

My least-favorite-navigator, Pallette. The bird in her hair is a nice touch!

Teapot. This was likely a teapot belonging to one of the studio's members who left it lying around.

IT CAN SEE INTO YOUR SOUL!

Enjoy!

Heading into finals!

One more week of this science stuff, and then I'm OUT.
My Chemistry exam is Tuesday, but I'm not too worried about it. I've been doing well in this class, and I enjoy it. If my final does not go too well, I will at least have the satisfaction of feeling like I learned something and enjoyed myself while doing so!
My Global Issues exam is Wednesday. Am I worried? Not particularly. I need to skim the book once more, but it is very basic information concerning overused topics. If I don't do well, I really don't care at this point. My seminar classes in the Lyceum were probably more challenging and enjoyable. I will do my best, regardless.
My Biology exam is Thursday and, well, I'm screwed no matter what I do! I'm trying to study the lecture notes, but I'm not sure if I should bother or not, seeing how the information covered on the midterms had absolutely nothing to do with the lectures. I will be so glad when this class is over and done with!

On to the pictures!

I like the "woodcut" style this picture has! I should try this again, sometime.

A simple "playing with colors" painting. It is much more sublime in real life. *STARE*

Itachi, my favorite bamf. Too bad he dies. :(

Axl! Too bad you can't see the glitter crayon, a-hur-dur.

This is cute. I don't enjoy babies, but I do enjoy the perspective in the background ;)

I want to go back to the woodcut picture for a second. This was one of John Greenwald's (http://www.johngreenwald.com/) favorites that I did. He was a studio neighbor and a friend. When my mom was giving art lessons, he would always pop in with some encouragement and kind words for the students. I often helped him catalogue his paintings, but I was mostly there for the conversation. He was overall a great person. I don't want to say "rest in peace" because that would be very un-John-like, but wherever he is, I know he's making an impact on everyone around him.

These were the last of the sketchbook-less pictures. I will likely be posting sporadically over the next few days if at all.
Wish me luck in my finals!

Bad Art (a mini rant)

Yes, my friends. The internet is a treasure trove of bad art. I'm glad that I explicitly stated in an earlier post that I am scanning in OLD sketchbooks, because I seriously just saw an entire gallery filled with pictures, by a 23 year old that look worse than my 12-13 year old self could draw. D:
I want to encourage people, but the first step to solving a problem is to admit you have a problem. I mean, seriously, don't expect a truckload of praise for your art if it looks like something semi-sophisticated chimps crapped out. ARGH.
On another, but similar, note, there is a museum in Massachusetts that I had the benefit of going to see in person. That museum is the one and only "Museum of Bad Art." Check out this link: http://museumofbadart.org/

On to the continuously-improving pictures!

I enjoy looking at this picture. The shading, the movement... it's pretty good for a 13 year old.

Hoss. At this point, I still used a very light touch with colored pencils, which did not afford me the full range each pencil can offer!

Neato. Wish I could remember where I got the pose from, though.

Look at the exhale! I need to try something like this again.

Some boy. Actually, there's a story behind him, but it's quite long and confusing. So there.

Seeing as it is 11:52 on a Friday night, I'm going to go get a bowl of Lucky Charms and count myself lucky that I managed to grab a bowl before my brother consumes the entire box by himself. Muaha.

The End and Misc.

The mini book was just that: mini. This post is the end of that tiny book, and the beginning of another sketchbook that I tore pages out of (what the HELL was I thinking?!). I'm pretty lucky that this stack of pictures managed to more or less stay together, but I still cringe at what I might have thrown out during one of my "MY ART SUCKS" cycles. ;_;

My 9th-10th grade science teacher was always sitting at his computer. This was an attempt to capture its charms, I suppose. Also: more highlighter!

Sayaka the ninja, again, as well as a page of history notes. Read if you dare!

Inspired by contour drawings. Kind of neat.

New pages! I truly love drawing Accel. You will be seeing A LOT more of her around (as if you haven't already).

Don't mess with me man... I don't play!