Sunday, August 18, 2013
The Closest Thing to a Rockstar
I visited Las Vegas recently and it was quite the experience! Between the glamor, stifling desert heat and moral turpitude I found myself thinking the Tryvnah would be right at home. I wanted to take a shot at drawing his full figure, so I took one of my earlier thumb sketches of him and fleshed it out.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Promise Me
When they see my drawings people often think Spark and Vahaadi are a couple. They are not; but they are very intimate friends. This image depicts the meta versions of Spark and Vahaadi (non Loose Canon, essentially) from a scenario that Evie and I have been working on. It's less of a roleplay and more of an exploratory collaborative prose. Evie wrote about Spark kissing Vahaadi's wrist and I thought that was such a tender moment I wanted to illustrate it. They've both just been through a traumatizing experience--notably more traumatizing for Spark than it was for Vahaadi, because he's endured it before--leaving Vahaadi drugged and injured and Spark picking up the pieces of her shattered self-created reality.
The thick outline sketch style is one I picked up from Saibraeus.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
The Price of Being a Daredevil
I was rereading an old roleplay and decided I want to do some sketches of Tryvnah. I created him as a major player in Vahaadi's back story but he doesn't appear as a contemporary in any of my story narratives. Which is kind of a shame, I'm realizing, because he's fun to write.
Tryvnah is a djinni like Vahaadi. He's the animal tamer in the circus troupe that adopted Vahaadi as a young runaway, and he's widely acknowledged as the favorite and likely successor of the troupe ring-leader, Zahar (the huge bird-like creature on the right). He's also quite the daredevil. Between his dangerous performance duties and his hobby in free-running, his life story is readily available in his appearance in the form of multiple scars and injuries. Most notably, he got a little to cocky with one of his beasts and ended up losing most of his left index finger when he was twenty.
In the little thumb sketches I tried to capture more ideas of his personality and interests. Tryvnah's quite a showboat and can seem self-important, but the truth is that he has a very natural self-confidence and a knack for handling just about anything that breathes. He loves animals and is wonderful with children. He considers all strangers potential friends and all friends potential lovers. His talent for leadership, team work, and charisma means that he's quite good at getting what he wants while leading others to believe it was their idea.
As talented as he is, he doesn't always get people to eat from the palm of his hand. His relationship with Vahaadi particularly puts him in some tight positions. In the roleplay I wrote with Evie, he ended up facing off with the notorious bounty hunter Marrik. Tryvnah might not have survived the encounter if Spark hadn't saved his butt!
(as usual, the anatomy is out to lunch)
Here, have an excerpt of the RP:
Tryvnah wasn't given a chance to decide on an action before Marrik lunged at him. Tryvnah barely dodged, and almost gave a hoot of self-congratulations when Marrik swung his staff around and jabbed him with such strength and precision in the small of his back that Tryvnah was sure one of his vertebrae had fractured with the impact. He gasped as the momentum knocked him clean off his feet, and when he hit the surface of the roof flat on his chest all of his breath was forced from his lungs. He gasped for air, pain shivering down his limbs from his jolted spinal column. He tried to get up, but the best he could do was roll onto his side, hissing through his teeth.
Marrik kicked him over so that he was lying face up, planted his foot on Tryvnah's chest, and leaned all of his weight onto it. With his free hand he unclipped a canteen and upended its contents on Tryvnah's face and arms. Tryvnah gasped in surprise and flinched as he was doused.
"Do you know what this is?" Marrik asked, returning the canteen to its place and pulling a needle with a syringe from a pouch. He held it over Tryvnah's face so that he could see it. At first glance, the syringe looked empty, but it was actually filled with a thin clear fluid. Tryvnah looked up at it blearily, but with the pain in his back and the weight of Marrik on his breastbone, was unable to respond. "It's just water," Marrik answered himself, turning the syringe over in his hand with a bored tone in his voice. "Hardly more than a swallow. And yet, Fawzild tells me that's all it takes to kill a djinni. One dose to your bloodstream..." He held the syringe threateningly close to Tryvnah's temple. "For all the legends about your kind, you djinn are so frail."
Tryvnah is a djinni like Vahaadi. He's the animal tamer in the circus troupe that adopted Vahaadi as a young runaway, and he's widely acknowledged as the favorite and likely successor of the troupe ring-leader, Zahar (the huge bird-like creature on the right). He's also quite the daredevil. Between his dangerous performance duties and his hobby in free-running, his life story is readily available in his appearance in the form of multiple scars and injuries. Most notably, he got a little to cocky with one of his beasts and ended up losing most of his left index finger when he was twenty.
In the little thumb sketches I tried to capture more ideas of his personality and interests. Tryvnah's quite a showboat and can seem self-important, but the truth is that he has a very natural self-confidence and a knack for handling just about anything that breathes. He loves animals and is wonderful with children. He considers all strangers potential friends and all friends potential lovers. His talent for leadership, team work, and charisma means that he's quite good at getting what he wants while leading others to believe it was their idea.
As talented as he is, he doesn't always get people to eat from the palm of his hand. His relationship with Vahaadi particularly puts him in some tight positions. In the roleplay I wrote with Evie, he ended up facing off with the notorious bounty hunter Marrik. Tryvnah might not have survived the encounter if Spark hadn't saved his butt!
(as usual, the anatomy is out to lunch)
Here, have an excerpt of the RP:
Tryvnah wasn't given a chance to decide on an action before Marrik lunged at him. Tryvnah barely dodged, and almost gave a hoot of self-congratulations when Marrik swung his staff around and jabbed him with such strength and precision in the small of his back that Tryvnah was sure one of his vertebrae had fractured with the impact. He gasped as the momentum knocked him clean off his feet, and when he hit the surface of the roof flat on his chest all of his breath was forced from his lungs. He gasped for air, pain shivering down his limbs from his jolted spinal column. He tried to get up, but the best he could do was roll onto his side, hissing through his teeth.
Marrik kicked him over so that he was lying face up, planted his foot on Tryvnah's chest, and leaned all of his weight onto it. With his free hand he unclipped a canteen and upended its contents on Tryvnah's face and arms. Tryvnah gasped in surprise and flinched as he was doused.
"Do you know what this is?" Marrik asked, returning the canteen to its place and pulling a needle with a syringe from a pouch. He held it over Tryvnah's face so that he could see it. At first glance, the syringe looked empty, but it was actually filled with a thin clear fluid. Tryvnah looked up at it blearily, but with the pain in his back and the weight of Marrik on his breastbone, was unable to respond. "It's just water," Marrik answered himself, turning the syringe over in his hand with a bored tone in his voice. "Hardly more than a swallow. And yet, Fawzild tells me that's all it takes to kill a djinni. One dose to your bloodstream..." He held the syringe threateningly close to Tryvnah's temple. "For all the legends about your kind, you djinn are so frail."
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Loose Canon Expressions
Probably needless to say, my New Year drawing ambitions haven't gone according to plan. Ah well. :) I snatch what drawing time I can. Here are some recent sketches, trying to get a feel for Vahaadi and Spark's expressions.
My current focus on Vahaadi is sorting out his facial proportions and incorporating his cowl more fully into his look. His eyes have shrunk significantly over the years. I like it; the smaller eyes make him look older and more crafty.
Whereas my goal with Vahaadi is to go tighter and subtler, with Spark I'm trying to capture that wild energy that Evie pulls off so well. Everything with Spark has to be EXTREME!
Shows like Aladdin and Fairly Odd Parents have given Spark unrealistic expectations of what a supernatural BFF should be capable of. XD I'm relatively certain that this is the first time Vahaadi's ever been made to feel as if his power is completely inadequate compared to what she's hoping he could do.
My current focus on Vahaadi is sorting out his facial proportions and incorporating his cowl more fully into his look. His eyes have shrunk significantly over the years. I like it; the smaller eyes make him look older and more crafty.
Whereas my goal with Vahaadi is to go tighter and subtler, with Spark I'm trying to capture that wild energy that Evie pulls off so well. Everything with Spark has to be EXTREME!
Shows like Aladdin and Fairly Odd Parents have given Spark unrealistic expectations of what a supernatural BFF should be capable of. XD I'm relatively certain that this is the first time Vahaadi's ever been made to feel as if his power is completely inadequate compared to what she's hoping he could do.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Let the Good Guys Win
Mmm, do you smell that? It's a fresh year! Time for New Year Resolutions! Following some advice I heard relating to Luke 2:52 ("And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.") I like to make four goals each year focusing on these respective areas: knowledge, health, spirituality and social. This year the line up is:
1. Draw for 45 minutes every day: 15 min gesture study, and 30 min. practices of various types.
For my gesture studies I'll be using posemaniacs.com's slick 30-second drawing tool. Right now I set the tool to give me 60 sec, (so I do 15 gestures) but hopefully by the end of the year my speed will have improved and I'll be able to finish the poses in 30 seconds apiece.
My 30 min. practices will be a variation on the 30minspeedpaint challenge. Everyday I will draw (or roll a die or something) to pick from one of seven categories: realism, fanart, emulation, animal, scenery, finishing, and free draw. For thirty minutes, I'll draw something according to the chosen category. For all but the last two, I'll use references. "Realism" will be photos of people, body parts, or props I want to focus on. "Fanart" will be studies of characters I like, and "Emulation" will be style studies based on other artists. Animals and scenery are pretty straightforward, I'll be using both photos and drawings for this category. "Finishing" will give me time to polish any pieces I've already started but want to continue refining, either from these practices or old work of mine that I want to finish or redo. Free draw is just whatever I want! I'll be getting my resources from one-stop-stock and my favorites folders on dA.
2. Record everything I eat on a daily basis on supertracker.
This is mostly a ploy to keep my weight under control. Just being aware of what I eat and in what quantities will hopefully help me cut back on bored grazing or recognize deficiencies. Also, I sporadically get stomachaches, so it will be nice if I can possibly find out what's causing them. Also also, I've started experimenting a lot more with cooking from scratch, and recording my exploits and recipes here!
3. Temple attendance once a month.
I had better temple attendance when I lived in Orlando, shameful. >.> Now I live DOWN THE STREET from one and can't make time to go? Unacceptable.
4. 100% visiting teaching.
If you're not familiar with the LDS faith, visiting teaching is a program (of sorts) to strengthen and "tend the flock" for the women of the Church. We check in on each other and do service and things like that. My track record for visiting teaching is not good. I tend to not enjoy church-mandated socializing. BUT it's good for me, and for others, and I know it. SO IMMA GONNA DO IT, AND IMMA GONNA LIKE IT.
Some miscellaneous "goals" include maintaining all-As as I complete the bulk of my college coursework, getting my website/portfolio/online presence all organized and getting one year older. If I don't manage that last one...welllll, it was fun while it lasted.
And now! To make good on my first resolution, here's my first set of gestures for 01/01/2013!
I probably won't end up posting my daily practices consistently, but maybe I will. I guess it will depend on how much time I end up having this semester.
And I'll count this as my first 30 min practice (although this took WAYYYYYYYYYYY longer than 30 min) in the free draw category.
Best "Wishes" from Vahaadi and Krissy!
Resources:
Firework PS Set 2 by FrostBo
And these two tutorials:
Photoshop trick 04 by Orpheelin
Digital Painting Walkthrough by altalamatox
This was inspired by the song "Let the Good Guys Win" by the Irish Rovers.
1. Draw for 45 minutes every day: 15 min gesture study, and 30 min. practices of various types.
For my gesture studies I'll be using posemaniacs.com's slick 30-second drawing tool. Right now I set the tool to give me 60 sec, (so I do 15 gestures) but hopefully by the end of the year my speed will have improved and I'll be able to finish the poses in 30 seconds apiece.
My 30 min. practices will be a variation on the 30minspeedpaint challenge. Everyday I will draw (or roll a die or something) to pick from one of seven categories: realism, fanart, emulation, animal, scenery, finishing, and free draw. For thirty minutes, I'll draw something according to the chosen category. For all but the last two, I'll use references. "Realism" will be photos of people, body parts, or props I want to focus on. "Fanart" will be studies of characters I like, and "Emulation" will be style studies based on other artists. Animals and scenery are pretty straightforward, I'll be using both photos and drawings for this category. "Finishing" will give me time to polish any pieces I've already started but want to continue refining, either from these practices or old work of mine that I want to finish or redo. Free draw is just whatever I want! I'll be getting my resources from one-stop-stock and my favorites folders on dA.
2. Record everything I eat on a daily basis on supertracker.
This is mostly a ploy to keep my weight under control. Just being aware of what I eat and in what quantities will hopefully help me cut back on bored grazing or recognize deficiencies. Also, I sporadically get stomachaches, so it will be nice if I can possibly find out what's causing them. Also also, I've started experimenting a lot more with cooking from scratch, and recording my exploits and recipes here!
3. Temple attendance once a month.
I had better temple attendance when I lived in Orlando, shameful. >.> Now I live DOWN THE STREET from one and can't make time to go? Unacceptable.
4. 100% visiting teaching.
If you're not familiar with the LDS faith, visiting teaching is a program (of sorts) to strengthen and "tend the flock" for the women of the Church. We check in on each other and do service and things like that. My track record for visiting teaching is not good. I tend to not enjoy church-mandated socializing. BUT it's good for me, and for others, and I know it. SO IMMA GONNA DO IT, AND IMMA GONNA LIKE IT.
Some miscellaneous "goals" include maintaining all-As as I complete the bulk of my college coursework, getting my website/portfolio/online presence all organized and getting one year older. If I don't manage that last one...welllll, it was fun while it lasted.
And now! To make good on my first resolution, here's my first set of gestures for 01/01/2013!
And I'll count this as my first 30 min practice (although this took WAYYYYYYYYYYY longer than 30 min) in the free draw category.
Best "Wishes" from Vahaadi and Krissy!
Resources:
Firework PS Set 2 by FrostBo
And these two tutorials:
Photoshop trick 04 by Orpheelin
Digital Painting Walkthrough by altalamatox
This was inspired by the song "Let the Good Guys Win" by the Irish Rovers.
May I get what I want
Not what I deserve
May the coming year not throw a single curve
May I hurt nobody
May I tell no lies
If I can't go on give me strength to try
Bring the old year out
Bring the new year in
Bring us all good luck
Let the good guys win (x2)
May the one you love
Be the one you get
May you get some place you haven't been to yet
And may your friends around you
Never do you wrong
May your eyes be clear
And may your heart be strong
Bring the old year out
Bring the new year in
Bring us all good luck
Let the good guys win (x2)
May the times to come
Be the best you've had
May peace rule the world
Let it make us glad
When you see something wrong
Try and make it right
Pull your shadowed world
Into the bright sunlight
Bring the old year out
Bring the new year in
Bring us all good luck
Let the good guys win (x2)
Let the good guys win
Let the good guys win
Let the good guys win
Not what I deserve
May the coming year not throw a single curve
May I hurt nobody
May I tell no lies
If I can't go on give me strength to try
Bring the old year out
Bring the new year in
Bring us all good luck
Let the good guys win (x2)
May the one you love
Be the one you get
May you get some place you haven't been to yet
And may your friends around you
Never do you wrong
May your eyes be clear
And may your heart be strong
Bring the old year out
Bring the new year in
Bring us all good luck
Let the good guys win (x2)
May the times to come
Be the best you've had
May peace rule the world
Let it make us glad
When you see something wrong
Try and make it right
Pull your shadowed world
Into the bright sunlight
Bring the old year out
Bring the new year in
Bring us all good luck
Let the good guys win (x2)
Let the good guys win
Let the good guys win
Let the good guys win
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