tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41874813260432733342024-03-13T11:14:19.398+00:00a soot spriteA creative lifestyle blogtiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-58500676629137120422022-10-15T00:39:00.012+01:002022-10-15T02:43:50.611+01:00"He couldn't look handsomer, I couldn't feel humbler, we couldn't be happier"<img alt="Wicked The Musical Broadway illustration Glinda Upland Fiyero Tiggular Tigelaar" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiag6UGRsWQtbHlyxDmDsCYLli_Rn77gfUz0Ai1dfOQnsfh17VcRJo3czLpo7v5HNOECiqZBWB-P66lzE3QC6FqGTma_RhTUlyC5957hZpH5u_QrB5cLtNgS8HJgfwE-GONBYWVW5ju1Vw1o3qJg--mNmWgU6HGO1KAiiZq8fLbPsKr9mDRv8xdXeCYpw/s1600/Untitled_Artwork.png" /><br /><br />
<p>Almost a year since I last updated, huh?</p><br />
<p>In truth I got The Big Sad and didn't much feel like drawing, but I truly feel like I'm out of it. I've had phases like this before where I think I'm feeling better only for it to come crashing down around me, but this is just feels different somehow. Like I'm not trying to force anything or go through any motions, I'm just lighter and more engaged again. I feel like the old me, and it's wonderful. And I've slowly felt like drawing again, for myself without pressure, and this is the first thing I've felt like sharing.</p><br />
<p>Earlier this month Wicked <a href="https://twitter.com/WICKED_Musical/status/1577712993667891200" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">shared a publicity shot</a> on Twitter of Brittney Johnson and Sam Gravitte as Glinda and Fiyero respectively and something about their posing made me instantly want to draw it. I also really got into fountain pens this past year, and originally painted this with layers of inks in the colors Blushing Mushroom and Adventurine by Ferris Wheel Press. It's my first time trying to incorporate inks like this, and I'm having fun with it and enjoy the texture. I ended up going over the inks with a light brush of colored pencil just as it lacked definition. Hopefully if I keep practicing I won't have to do that, but also this probably wasn't the best image to practice that method with as areas are too small and detailed. The inks are shimmery though, which left a neat effect!</p><br />
<p align="center"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzuChxCNJ8rijuN0yrO1COUJa0mjHKNJ1hDfr0pQCpK16YbDGLoqI7y76VL7eHLvnTaWvCCUrI8OEEIhY0IEyw9DQQQFr51M82fwwYJlGPWAJijExQwJEbOvhXVeJAIE4d2fZiHH70DKbOlb4oD4mp5DECuJ-K4t_WSqQPEavpYSP74lVJwqZMBsGXA/s1600/Untitled-1.gif" /></p><br />
<p>Although this is based on an image featuring Brittany Johnson, I've drawn my own design of the characters as I always do. I am not whitewashing Glinda, she is white in the book which is integral to Fiyero's character development as the <i>only</i> person of color in Shiz. <a href="https://asootsprite.blogspot.com/2019/07/blue-diamonds.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">As I've written about before</a> I prefer to keep the characters as a combination of their musical and novel selves as it adds more depth and I love them both. I just wanted to take a moment to explain so no one misconstrues my intentions! I'm by no means trying to diminish Brittany's acomplishment as the first Black Glinda on Broadway, which is about damn time. Casting should <i>always</i> be colorblind.</p><br />
<p>This isn't the best thing I've drawn, but I'm just happy to be drawing again. Perhaps I'll share some of the earlier things in this sketchbook, but I also have a lot of ideas for the future. I can't say when as I have a lot going on right now, but know it's coming.</p>
tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-6953136065773638762021-09-15T22:35:00.002+01:002021-09-15T22:36:29.371+01:00Washi tape<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68eAv4b-4lX8V-91RKVc-Lt-8Zx_3WpbZtwbNO3IMDxFQBbCb_lMapUYbRPwuC5nyF_-J-xZXScKWDOgIPcwUpXchM607xpTkPnlKSE_qR_igBkibN_jHjnIfum63jQ8U0TsKF8kgv29N/s0/tape+no+bleed+copy.png" />
<p>I designed a washi tape! To be honest I wasn't sure whether to save posting this until I can show the finished manufactured product, but I worked too long and too hard on it and want to shout about it as much as I can.</p><p><br /></p><p>As I was wrapping some parcels for my shop I thought how fun and 'on brand' it would be if I had my own washi tape I could use to secure everything (I currently use a generic patterned one I bought in Japan). I knew it would involve creating a long, run on image, and I immediately thought of my <a href="https://asootsprite.blogspot.com/2018/11/folktale-week.html" target="_blank">Folktale Week drawings</a>, which to this day are still some of my favorite illustrations I've ever created (all of my work from 2018/2019 is to be honest, I feel like that was when I peaked 😭) As much as I love that artwork, it doesn't all make sense because it was following a prompt list, so I decided to create a new version and this time really commit to the theme of Russian folktales instead of just being inspired by the general aesthetic.</p><p><br /></p><p>There's not a huge amount of characters, partly because I wanted to keep it identifiable to a global audience so didn't want to go for anything too obscure, and I didn't want it to look too crowded, it's mostly just supposed to be a forest with a few magical elements.</p><p><br /></p><p>Obviously I had to include Baba Yaga and her hut, which is probably the most iconic character to people from around the world, and I also included the Firebird which crops up in a few different Slavic tales. And a bear, because it's the Russian forest, and they do crop up in folktales (plus I just love bears OK)</p><p><br /></p><p>Now I just hope it comes out OK! I put a lot of detail in and I hope it isn't too pointless for such a small product. It'll eventually be sold in a set with another tape, and I'll be sure to update when it's ready!</p>tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-5309281166464582562021-09-15T22:20:00.000+01:002021-09-15T22:20:01.396+01:00Angel of Music<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuA6sMTW9S9txPVKLL_b62yhc0Rb3kHIcI0A1UkX84INZUUvgfeknuUhQWnYZYvnEBZMpio5pHHBtZQIfnpIbx2yDNjMlNec1ux4z5ClfDHqQgOK9D2XNrZkDOO26vqtdntBtAMymNpAKN/s0/IMG_5984.png" />
<p>I hadn't even thought about <i>The Phantom of the Opera</i> in years when I suddenly had the urge from nowhere to draw this. I listened to the soundtrack as I drew it, decided to book a ticket and go see it for old times sake, and it's kind of all snowballed from there.</p>tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-38136583119809165342021-05-11T18:44:00.002+01:002024-02-25T23:58:45.367+00:00Poor fool, he makes me laugh!<img alt="Carlotta Giudicelli The Phantom of the Opera" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytCINNoJKajaazpsIJuZDoNXg32kIAuBOAqr9ucNI537NvZkcs1WlL54ZOJG_QsE6j9yVyl364ffWoQJOa2F44y7lZljZV7Ny68of7Dfl1BXiIXRr8grCWWFr3d8y5lKw4TKSSoJc7hSb/s0/IMG_5982.png"/>
<p>Carlotta Giudicelli from <i>The Phantom of the Opera</i>.</p><br/>
<i>The Phantom of the Opera</i> was my OG musical obsession and is really what got me interested in musical theatre and going regularly, and was what lead me onto discovering other productions as I followed my favourite actors careers after they moved on from the roles. So I have a lot to thank it for! I haven't paid it much attention for a while, but I gave the 25th Anniversary concert a listen a few weeks ago and have been on a bit of a <i>Phantom</i> kick ever since. I really want to re-read the book again this year!</p><br/>
<p>Carlotta has always been one of my favourite characters, and it always saddens me how much she's overlooked or dismissed as nothing but a 'diva' and pitted against Christine. Carlotta is quite a lot older than 16 year old Christine - she's probably in her 30s or 40s and would have dedicated her life to working <b>damn hard</b> to win the role of lead soprano at one of the biggest opera house's in Paris. And like so often happens to women in the entertainment industry, her hard work and dedication to her craft is being overlooked as she's passed over for a younger actress who, as far as Carlotta is concerned, hasn't had any proper vocal training nor worked her way up through the lower ranks and gained that experience. And if that isn't insulting enough, she then has her performance sabotaged in front of a full house which would have impacted her reputation. She's a tragic character! Her throwing a few bitchy comments Christine's way doesn't make her a bad person when you consider everything she's being put through, her upset is valid!</p><br/>
<p>I also love her relationship with Piangi. As much as I love <i>Phantom of the Opera</i>, the two main relationships of Christine and Raoul and Christine and the Phantom are BOTH toxic as hell, and then in the background barely noticed you've got Carlotta and Piangi showing what a healthy, supportive relationship looks like. Piangi isn't initially being targeted by the 'Opera Ghost' and his job is safe, but he still takes a stand and backs Carlotta at every opportunity, and is always behind her for moral support when she's being treated unfairly. What a gem!</p>tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-46871733355116537762021-04-06T00:39:00.003+01:002021-04-07T00:36:27.838+01:00Oz<p>A catch up with all of my Oz related illustrations this past year. Some of these are super recent so I show no signs of stopping yet!</p>
<br />
<img alt="return to oz mumby digital illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXYbVHP2mSrqDeBJd6BtbpA9am-3k0gbjZn9IpvfhAz5MIR2gvtv5uyiofPZ3oGmaoKqVGCgSWWZ-nysbVhjEzT7jE2fhL6z1LJtbzMZ1Wk4B0j7rhSbRURwBYq_vkuMm_tJL_i0yi54e/s0/IMG_4657.png" />
<p>I've been wanting to draw something from <i>Return to Oz</i> for <b>ages</b>. It's actually my favourite Oz related movie - I can take or leave the Judy Garland movie to be honest, I don't know if that's controversial but it's the book of <i>the Wizard of Oz</i> that captivated me rather than the movie version. I grew up watching <i>Return to Oz</i> and I think it's what gave me such a love of horror as scenes like the Wheelers and Mombi's hallway of decapitated heads both terrified and enthralled me! And as an adult I was so excited when I picked up Baum's books for the first time and realised they were much more in keeping with <i>Return To Oz</i> rather than the overly saccharine MGM movie. I want to draw more from <i>Return to Oz</i> at some point, but here's a start! Princess Mombi and a few of her heads.</p>
<br />
<img alt="the wizard of oz scarecrow field with dorothy gale digital illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtk_CaFROGiovCmwB050ruHfG47Vl37MA7UrFKd5y657FAELObD_YKNgJiQjDQyM_ykpDR4ExPZjezHotgFRot8kOO1Rs0VjKloGCdysGu1sar3c1s7oWvd2G7Ab8dUEtY7jCqr93MKwKM/s0/IMG_4654.png" />
<p>After I first read <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> <a href="https://asootsprite.blogspot.com/2018/09/how-dorothy-saved-scarecrow.html" target="_blank">I drew the scene of Dorothy meeting the Scarecrow</a> and it's what catapulted me down this whole art journey I've been on these past two years. My style has developed a lot since then as I was still very much finding my feet back then, and it's a scene I wanted to revisit. I'd love to know which version you prefer! I had to make references to the Scarecrow being Fiyero because this is <i>me</i> drawing it after all!</p>
<br />
<img alt="the wizard of oz scarecrow tinman dorothy gale digital illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpW4p-nOeO-JtRbAcdRi1virvud2xtf-DNGbL1VsPO5LYENDEzTj6r7muAbZnHrC1tyR4zvfeXxTW9pQ8fpIHA7Ewtw_0AJrQNOQ3aLd_NnSzBAcJR2V80fCN-PnXG21hB4RTzZ_MNZy_v/s0/IMG_4656.png" />
<p>And I figured I'd draw the following scene where they meet <strike>Boq</strike> the Tin Man! He was a lot more of a challenge to draw than I realised he'd be, and whilst I originally wanted to do my own take I did end up taking a lot of inspiration from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_Woodman#/media/File:Tin_Woodman.png" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Denslow's original illustrations</a>. Most of the difficulty came because a tin man would obviously be very rigid, whereas my art style is much more fluid and I wanted him to look stuck, not stiff and lifeless.</p>
<br />
<img alt="fiyero and glinda wicked musical broadway digital illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1am41sXjzKpkiBS2CAXanpLYFG_NbXvYvtVwwKTPyD2QcW4JXQAE212MGzr2xpGX7EekbBLtvXjZA5um5_jXGF1CQL7dlc-Acfi7CXoYrHZrxqnSZx-wJJ9vMIBrgA-8nnjLa5dAdBnE/s0/IMG_4655.png" />
<p>Drawing <i>Wicked</i> characters is my happy comfort place. I've been playing around with trying to give Fiyero his blue diamond tattoos he has in the books to try and give him back some of his cultural identity that they took away in the musical, but it's difficult not to make them look crap.</p>
<br />
<img alt="wicked musical broadway elphaba glinda popular digital illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEiNd4LXVrJWt05dyzFfLm6E1LS5IuKYAMS6opGsNzY6v2HGajufCCiFNkzvL5nRuYygc3EWrJGY0hE9kbNSX24_0fxZplj9jeolByH496foxLRNYi8QBeSM_RbCoC_LkkhzAy8wL-OYH/s0/IMG_4666.png" />
<p>I can't believe it took me this long to draw this scene honestly!</p>
<br />
<img alt="the wizard of oz scarecrow digital illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWf1LX861OYVKfXgIQK3vWv3Z6cY0jNfZRhlB5FYnUBhbiW2OcX4RL-xPWAlk5Aq_f9h5PwPpK03OLH4rJQDfVQsgV5PpN1vS3YYEG4qvmIeWmPPRliDJcYHw-FOHts_8ejFtZ0YMFYoE/s0/IMG_5210.png" />
<p>This is a really old drawing that I did for Inktober of 2019, and I've been wanting to colour it for ages and finally got around to it last week! So this literally brings everything bang up to date. I don't know if you can even really tell, but I've been trying with a slightly more painterly style as my colouring process was starting to feel a little formulaic and dull. It's always really intrigued me with how many story possibilities there are with Fiyero turning into a Scarecrow and how that would effect him, his relationships, and how he interacts with the world around him. But unfortunately no one else seems to care about anything beyond "Gelphie" and I'm not a writer, so I just try and touch on it in my illustrations as best I can.</p>tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-13880826465149704962021-04-05T23:50:00.003+01:002021-04-06T00:52:51.747+01:00Inside my sketchbook<p>I haven't been posting here much because I've got <i>so much</i> art to post and catch you up on that it's a little overwhelming tbh! I've been feeling similarly about Instagram - I hear everyone say about how it's good for engagement to post every day so I saved a whole bunch of work up, but I can't say posting every day has made a jot of difference to my engagement whatsoever, and being less spontaneous about it all has sucked all the fun from my account. I was scrolling back through my feed and I honestly think I was doing better before I started overanalysing it, so once I've caught up it'll be back to basics for me! Sharing things I'm excited about as soon as I've created them.</p>
<br />
<p>So this is going to be a bit of a catch up post!</p>
<br />
<img alt="new york city illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6_fCRFE-l4kpvriagJtzwCdNgTiLO2a9wxZBTDDuJUJAQ007Nx9R7vj2IaXpRoP5hlW8SolmdUrQnZKYWAagjtqqgkRbLsxzf-kOGoWg9111rjRC1Wigj020tZIGk87LQsKcWIN6ZVGp/s0/IMG_4859.png" />
<p>I'm still getting used to trying to draw backgrounds and perspective and stuff, but also in a more simplified way. I don't know if it's because I draw realism as well, but when I draw a location I tend to get caught up in all of the little details rather than catching a mood or energy of a place and it's something I'm trying to work on as it's a style I really admire. I also think it would be a really nice practice to get into for my travels too. I drew this from a photograph and I was quite pleased with how it came out!</p>
<br />
<img alt="moulin rouge broadway illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSZHU4LsVw9VgjSr29Xc-hg6hKb5ayVzzV-bZDGquGPTXd01mVe-Qq97of7eKre3LWl08f31DkYTxxot0vQGuMnF8U9O5nkRIOpOAY4pY56aq7tQtJ61ynbTArznO9g1VZMP5SKJLTMHu/s0/IMG_5134.png" />
<p>I originally wanted to digitalise this, but I also drew it so long ago that I've kind of lost all motivation and would rather work on new ideas ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ When the world first went into lockdown a year ago (OMG!) I had a ton of ideas, more illustrations than I could keep up with and so many that I wanted to colour digitally and turn into "proper" works, but I ended up with such a backlog that it began to feel like a chore and I've given up on a lot of them for now at least. I at least painted this one so the idea is still kind of there! I had wanted to incorporate some of their key lyrics into their clothing and background.</p>
<br />
<img alt="mika portrait illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLgT6WV1oOOrZjV3XaIWAn7knAn9rzioI1rnoGrChvhJ8ZvRioJ3CM2L4EU3Q77yexh8nY__3w9dbH1TmXf39MiI0nCoYXVUIU6KTZil9JCPL-M7wnf3emBk1gNJa3brLF97PiKmBqQdBK/s0/ACS_0256.jpg" />
<p>I kept working at my ballpoint illustrations, and here's one of Mika I did last summer before I went to Kyoto. Stations in Japan have all different stamps and I love how they looked in my sketchbook.</p>
<br />
<img alt="cowardly lion wizard of oz illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjda6xskT4OPidmMNIkjytRRt-noBoRDybUNd8tzeP9ulLfppd9Ntx3Jb0S3ysuSBb5iGjqY4Xv3kX-b2R-lAstIGAeMxkv1oGgUnkBDFKLiZQXxbOsRaeXdEClMNxi0QjFYL-IDzufVcTE/s0/IMG_5135.png" />
<p>I realised I never drew the Cowardly Lion! I'm very out of practice with drawing animals so they're always a challenge for me.</p>
<br />
<img alt="aaron tveit ballpoint portrait" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Bz48G9_Zuhfdq5WivL2VIEQy6qS_q7hukixeiB_ZF70x6xs-pk_Kwssj1Yl0Dxqyni12xXDIvnUXr2LnnPlqJ_X_wq_1lwOV8Zl9rLVePEUbik_8p5Khr4w0C_hKLpSsBHwdX4OGKQgL/s0/ACS_0371+asootsprite.png" />
<img alt="aaron tveit ballpoint portrait" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCvxPVJP2jarRFqt3miKxs4wownmIMREo-z5I74FEY-cRf4IZQQ2VSVv95UqlIQ_cZX_m6z2Jj076W5PQ4CsRb-3XFuAh4U-rQWcgWd86B1j4YfUmm-o7tLVQUXFJuAg12IXcmysFNMx8/s0/IMG_4858.png" />
<img alt="aaron tveit ballpoint portrait" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoDLQcDTv2N2OxpTsxEhxxeiHXHS7fT8IGZyD8jywk8of1q7PzeTbO0PGyiZE4ltjduJKoicJrTq6_GlYwxm4xSu-BWCVH3XyUc7B5MVedHST9sr3Getop06iCHGeZnVBzLEPBj7EkW2-/s0/IMG_5148.png" />
<p><i>Of course</i> I've still been drawing Aaron.</p>
<br />
<img alt="joaquin phoenix joker movie ballpoint portrait" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxHy67MYFPeZxOUVtilzTMUEN8hVyoPzWgw92wQOj0vlzTJzzbNxh7feKq_SMj0X_uQz9QuTYP-x7yhFuxwIHtO255RgaaAV2qtH5gBO5vRxXyGLPcLXcX6eGFKuVxyqfps5lm0yzv0PK/s0/IMG_5257.png" />
<p>And the Joker too! I tried before to colour the Joker's makeup after I drew it, and last time I used Copics which turned out way too vivid and kind of killed the drawing. I still really wanted to try the idea though, so I used coloured pencils this time which I think worked out much better! And I did the blood in gouache to make it really stand out.</p>
<br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxCsJnKitHGKR4FP7sGi3AahheLAvVFH4o7RR5Q1NcJHlX8gwCxWImhZwecEIgDV-PFZXVmfJRYv-VMY-81cBYOt5rbmWHF839kf1wWnFT7laAnjeDce6ZU1JwiGGAIVI0LCEzI6dRiB1/s0/ACS_0537.png" />
<p>I had this idea of a friendly bear for a while, I kind of want to put it on a shirt? <i>'Goddag'</i> is just a way of saying Hello in Danish, I'm trying to incorporate more of it into my work to show a bit more of my cultural identity instead of defaulting to English all of the time.</p>
<br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqcNA43nwtJxQ6mIYZKuSEKjwr-j7I2ue6lu7AJZQI1dxmBphVheBnO1WYXblvNlQakldkaYn4AafhGr6OUlkoc78AZvhCvZqht9LaF83C-3AW09jvTmK_L-hHXr57h5zvv3vN_KxOGKp/s0/cosy.png" />
<p>It was autumn and I wanted to draw something cozy! This is like, my ideal day to me. Books, candles, music, cookies, and a raging storm outside. If you zoom right in the books on the shelf are some of my favourites I grew up with!</p>
<br />
<img alt="enjolras les miserables victor hugo musicals broadway illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGlWbZPuWcqKxpq0zGAULnO4EZAnbM6xOMNAa1BPDBFy0xgW4WsqOfG3lztahWqz6DIFlnsP6XaJCSs8Q_4I1tdKMQAuELME65SOFC19nA_lXixbrpi-BcemUO5R8gMYHU5kHe9rPy6Rg/s0/IMG_4667.png" />
<p>Branching out in my musicals, ey? XD Les Mis is one of my original musical obsessions way back and I wanted to show it a little love. I tried to blend Enjolras's stage and movie costumes - I had to do the vest because it's <b>iconic</b>, but I prefer the movie's pants and blond wig.</p>
<br />
<p>I have a whole bunch of Oz illustrations too, but I'll add them to their own post!</p>tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-28124476119677456262021-01-01T13:59:00.002+00:002021-04-06T00:43:24.360+01:00Godt Nytår<img alt="asootsprite illustration raccoon woodland new year" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdVcA1kZzrWtu_fXOVHdJ3A8a06AnmFyYG5STn9GW3a5t1666_i3gEvz6ioXRhmT8sGV-uGHUJB_U4IYyDloz6A9RHAMsO7cQJIHS1fOhxmc8FuhInvLlrm1Y-c7NQugllEV1VUnDV3Hsa/s0/newyear.png" />
<center><b>Happy New Year!<br/>
Wishing you all the best for 2021</b> 🎉</center>tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-92016872739493296252020-11-08T11:26:00.012+00:002024-02-25T23:59:11.596+00:00The Snow Queen<p>I've got such a backlog of artwork to share that it's difficult to know which order to even go in! I've written out a list and there's literally 20 things on it that I need to post here, so buckle up I guess as I'll try and post as much of it as I can over the coming weeks.</p><br />
<p>My recently completed <i>Snow Queen</i> project feels like the most natural place to start, as it's been occupying a large part of my mind for most of the year. Back in June I shared some original sketches that I'd created back in May, and even before then it was a project that I knew was looming for me. </p><br />
<p><i>The Snow Queen</i> by Hans Christian Andersen is probably my all time favourite fairy tale, and it's something I go way back with. When I was in my foundation year of art school for my big final project I decided I wanted to illustrate my own version of <i>The Snow Queen</i>. The artwork is kind of cringey to me now, but it was a labour of love as <i>The Snow Queen</i> is an epic in length for being a fairy tale, and a lot of background research went into everything.</p><br />
<img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ZSv20rG4fcR39r-dQdBBdkRaBnrYDdnglypIM2ebgZpr1EluXJkeYh-nDBgYPb5GbRitPcJAktvhNhMmpD7DfLbtDxxmFmXovRCJnZYH5Ei6nU4eC_5OL_mfAQnX-5nb9cfcbrKN-gw8/s0/FilePNG-4174.png" /><br /><br />
<p>This feels really embarrassing to be sharing, but I also think it's really important to show that we all start somewhere as it's easy to fall into the idea that people can just magically draw <i>like that</i> when in fact it's taken years upon years of practise, hard work, and trial and error. I was definitely bound by the limitations of my skill level (<i>perspective, what's that??</i>) but when I look at all 23 illustrations I can see that I had some good ideas, and it's something I've been wanting to update for a long time. I'm still undecided as to whether or not I'll recreate the whole book as like I said it's a long one, but I'm really proud of these illustrations as they stand right now and am pleased to add them to my portfolio:</p><br />
<img alt="The Snow Queen illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRyvtaCzhkuKwYPgrK2uSJaYSpZUcFvQRV-Pku3TtU0PztFeIugfmLRdniSgAQXV63nzG9_6WxgNABLM15UwEPgAKnewP6HNuWmJHmEKigmuIGGhuHo2UFdrwmMZ15jYF0RZ6S0KJW6CYS/s0/snoq+queen+1.png" /><br /><br />
<p>You can tell that this is supposed to be a direct update of one of the old illustrations above, and I think because of that it really shows just how much I've grown as an artist. One of the biggest things I learnt at art school was the importance of backgrounds in telling the story and setting the scene - I can distinctly remember my tutor looking at my illustration of Baba Yaga and suggesting giving the fir trees a character of their own: <i>"maybe they could look like they're leaning in and listening"</i>. And as much as I loathe backgrounds, it undeniably makes a huge difference! I did take Danish architecture into account, although I think there's so little of the buildings on show that it could also be anywhere which isn't necessarily a bad thing. </p><br /><p>I think my biggest struggle with this particular illustration was whether it matched the mood of the others and looked cohesive next to them as the colours are much brighter, but it's also at the very beginning of the story before the Snow Queen tries to ruin Kai's life so I figured it worked in that sense. <i>The Snow Queen</i> is essentially a coming of age story detailing the passage between childhood and adulthood, so I wanted them to look on the cusp of that.</p><br />
<img alt="The Snow Queen illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgafHhEvgcCMLj0l_PNy5B1Wq8zRf2xdeAMeSMa5ScIv2jz2jzR2r8_5rb6q1x3eNvcvozZhB_Ycb6lg5i5iNs8GoiBxD-mjCUeErDI73eOg4NLeMM4fdS-aUNuW4ZJflBpmxxDNTuNhQAy/s0/snow+queen+2.png" /><br /><br />
<p>I've always loved this section of the tale where Kai is looking out the window at the falling snow, and suddenly the Snow Queen appears and looks at him through the window and beckons. Considering the magic mirror hadn't entered his life yet I've always found this passage a really interesting part of the narrative. This was the very last illustration I created, and it underwent the most changes from sketch to final piece as I'd originally envisioned the Snow Queen smaller, almost like a fairy, as she's described as a snowflake getting brighter and brighter until it formed the shape of a woman. But I didn't like the idea of her shifting sizes as it didn't make much sense, and as her size isn't mentioned in the book I changed it and I like it much better this way. </p><br />
<center><img alt="The Snow Queen illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPNwcQZH-D8rdlUvV037_v6P5Kx4rLq8ktu0zaFBS5expAXoRCOL9LK7N4_P2B93R53SYLSS45V8CYQfx012B8ydvxn4NJ6QJChbOoW-NkcIbbn3qZoaa3b1Q4s0V-DZqc0zAAWq47PEQ/s0/snow+queen+3.png" /></center><br /><br />
<p>The mirror falling into Kai's eye and heart while it snows. I intended this to be more of a spot illustration to be surrounded by text.</p><br />
<img alt="The Snow Queen illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJzfENfJRsIehM_BA-Zr8ZiiSVaoDJWMmfFitcsD-jMnVDqNC4XQImIw5cxjys3z2fCZ_FPnyWLy6YI3TeHNVwbq6HLGq2COf2x-rqj2ZiDSsfa4mZLMWkMc0mHd5A4jOlXG4Otqtem_1/s0/Snow_Queen_Kiss.png" /><br /><br />
<p>This was the first illustration I digitally painted, and it really set the mood for everything else. It's when the Snow Queen comes to take Kai away and kisses his forehead and touches his heart to freeze him where the shards of mirror are. </p><br /><p>I really wanted to keep some design elements of my original Snow Queen, as well as keeping it as far removed from anything to do with Elsa as possible! The character is always portrayed as a woman so white she's almost albino with equally white hair, and it's an interpretation that's never made much sense to me as I always figured she'd look more indigenous than anything else. But at the same time I didn't want to appropriate Sámi culture or identify it to any particular real world group in any way as she's a magical being and not a person. I tried to make her dress quite fantastical and kept it from following any historical period to keep that other worldly vibe, and as she lives in the mountains I figured she'd make do with the things around her such as a cloak made from the hide of a polar bear, and a crown fashioned from reindeer antlers strung together with brambles. </p><br /><p>Kai's design is the only subtle reference to <i>Frozen</i> as I wanted him to kind of resemble Prince Hans.</p><br />
<img alt="The Snow Queen illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iEXjNhilJthy_We5msms-187Rd5mYJBTItzMK2cJhHCZROYotoXyD6m7GX6_r2tzrabK8YpBDPQWcQNjqn0O72USe6c4MqoYZlEEmCxZfNU2-fz8UHDp30ZDV-T2sMmbm_C8W07baQcj/s0/snow+queen+4.png" /><br /><br />
<p>Again this is another illustration directly based on one of my old ones, except this time I actually used reference for a running reindeer (I think I used a reference for a horse before and it shows!) I kept the red cloak as I love the pop of colour it gives to an otherwise very muted palette. I generally made Gerda very warm toned, and Kai very cool toned which I felt matched their character arcs.</p><br />
<img alt="The Snow Queen illustration" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKMGU4VQ85faYp32vscvvqG7Fhb_gRnKt6Vsf2Iyv1p5VQBkVHfMV4DlquGH4qCVz3vFkq1J0ImjkKBAchakAaqdRkalvY_SZAmeNBuzBx43BrEF-ifreH7CJF3zwrO_e6PflQiKKnV86x/s0/snow+queen+5.png" /><br /><br />
<p>I think this one took the most work, but it paid off in the end! The hardest part was getting all of the ice to actually look like ice and not rocks or pieces of slate. I also tried to adjust Kai's skin tone to show how he's slowly freezing. I looked up pictures of frostbite but that was a bit too knarly for what I was going for! I also gave him heterochromia to signify the shard of mirror in one of his eyes.</p><br /><div>I tried to create a selection from all different parts of the book, in the hopes that it would tell a condensed version of the story regardless of whether I expand on it. I'd love to create the whole book and self publish it, but at the same time these took so much work that I just need a break from it so I guess we'll see if that ever happens! I created these for my portfolio more than anything, as a self commissioned project to show an example of sequential illustration to any potential clients, but it seems a shame to just shove it in my portfolio and forget about it so I'm hoping to perhaps create some things for my shop out of the designs. Definitely a postcard set, but I'd like to do more with it if possible as it's all of my own original design and I want to move into selling my own characters more. </div>tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-25781278325256331242020-10-11T17:34:00.005+01:002024-02-26T00:04:38.996+00:00Ohuhu markers<img alt="ohuhu markers" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7sz4m2oyn1cpMZ3PErbNJi2wg_zIZvDMZyPe3UcDqNLM4ehLY3eTYbEhXIRXWMB0px2Cn1Oy46Dg59nHkNBXb840byxNUJpkcB8XXF_UQkqoZdMRsiv9MU5BdysnQjEgcIzFmLZIazlma/s0/ACS_0329.png" /><br /><br />
<p>I've heard a lot of buzz online about Ohuhu markers, and as alcohol markers are my favourite traditional art medium I've been intrigued for a while. The only brands of markers I've ever used before have been Prismacolor and Copic, but I've been using those brands for about 10 years so I feel like I know what constitutes a good marker! Still, I couldn't justify buying a whole new set just to satisfy my curiosity when I have literally hundreds of Copics and Prismacolor markers at my disposal - or at least I did until I came to Japan.</p><br />
<p>I've bought a modest collection of Copic markers since being in Japan - they are Japanese afterall, and much cheaper here than they can be bought for in the West. But I'd often still feel limited by my colour palette, so when I saw the Ohuhu markers on offer on Amazon for what translated to £23 for 80, well I couldn't resist!</p><br />
<img alt="ohuhu markers" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfu9t-FJ5YQDdj5awmgzbgodZ4lKGCnC7sG-Ft4jb_HtPmBUHUCJhLw67UWbanqsv1V7Pzwwa-RFpk-dKHQNDy2EhAZ5Wx63fN8s3-0LMcaX14ldRck4eDA2wTBA_abXumN-Wwbzqnm9gx/s0/ACS_0328.png" />
<img alt="ohuhu markers" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFp31BDW80UuxuRcqDsAAn0OStP5ixI4jwmWqP9hPnsmlKo_t3Tsuqe66vrTOuH6jrrZuBWzpdjUTTI101Zhys4nA-BhDf6vRw7UgPV7aArTT9l1YqidYQYdYnRD6cGYrifQL5bQwwyQQ/s0/ACS_0254.png" /><br /><br />
<p>And so far? I absolutely love these markers. To my mind they're on equal par to the Prismacolor markers - particularly as I got the bullet nib set. I've always found Prismacolor more vibrant and punchy than Copics, and the Ohuhu are the same in that regard. The Ohuhu are also super juicey, and I used them on thick watercolor paper that would dry out my Copics in no time yet these still feel like they have ages left to go.</p><br />
<p>So if like me you've ever wondered about Ohuhu markers, I wholeheartedly recommend them. They come in a preselected set, which I don't mind as it's a good starting off point. They're not sold singularly so if one does dry out you're a bit stuck, but you could always replace that one marker with a Primsacolor or Winsor & Newton or even a Copic to keep your set. I also like the case the Ohuhus come in - as I'm travelling it's absolutely perfect for me, and it comes with a plastic sheet to stop bleed through and paper swatch sheets to fill out which are welcome additions.</p><br /><p>I did a quick drawing of Fiyero and Glinda as they're two characters I draw a lot and are familiar with and I was really pleased with how they came out - it's 100% Ohuhu markers. I think they'll work really well with the Copics I do have here and I'm really excited with how much more option I have now.</p><br />
<img alt="ohuhu markers" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5rKseHZW0kWdo9VVldf8Vv9s59-PRJgDz5cL5y4znAY5IGix6ytD_FGhym-GeDdZEoJUpF9MQoK2_rgfmNTjsg38jA5-9BptJHg7Z5csAKnYgJ9owM7WRwteoEUJuNQ2l1XVoQtfa8bL/s0/ACS_0255.png" />
<img alt="art philosophy watercolor confections decadent pies" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEXbFpFKNMR2pWA8gJ8dyx3VWTI8LI7BX-BZeBd0YIMTEe0hwbaYNLyv5BYmHjI-75WS2r7Dse43K8c1c74kFvO1i29rhcFFviJn0df2ZTAiq3_nI-zc6rqZfwuxyLTjpxOfUVleEg0ro/s0/ACS_0264.png" /><br /><br />
<p>Not related to Ohuhu but another art supply I got lately were these watercolors by Art Philosophy. This is another art supply I saw online and got intrigued by, and as I have no watercolors here I decided to go for it.</p><br /> <p>I love the unusual colour choices they offer, and I went for 'Decadent Pies' as it seemed like a good all rounder. I hate the usual standard watercolor palettes as I find the colours too vibrant for what I like to paint, so I really loved the idea of these but unfortunately I was disappointed when it actually arrived. The colours are nicely pigmented as you can see from the swatches - in that regard they're everything I wanted! But half of them are also metallic, which is not advertised and certainly <b>not</b> what I wanted. You can't tell from the swatch sheet, but basically the whole top row except 'pecan' has micro glitter which is pretty but not very practical and means you can't really mix them. I suppose these palettes are OK if you want to collect all of them, but I don't, and it certainly stops them from being as cheap as they appear. Oh well, not everything can be a winner!</p><br />
<img alt="art philosophy watercolor confections decadent pies" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxeTdl14ImBoT8m3D3V3XLVTfx5L2YS6yen8JuPwBRMPJuLN9meY8xAU2qtZ9jraNr4ga1N5Ntz_vcASsFGppldvR-fR-Xu5lpAOOxxhYxlyqEiVqfJMkKXhZULr6mdRdLQCfp8hyphenhyphen4WYUW/s0/ACS_0258.png" />
<img alt="art philosophy watercolor confections decadent pies" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgweONb2xGEoXsMwYo2zZy-DQo9HdYpxYy5Zj_4pNKSOQCeMwW3ZSissblBNabf0y5tDEuLAh0cA9ausnnV0g_wOE2rYPsQX9XV-KPfTs57mLgLewR6gJAdJB8z8XS8rBS3wpIRYYgJPPJX/s0/ACS_0262.png" />
tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-11368174806125584782020-09-13T09:30:00.001+01:002020-09-13T09:30:50.928+01:00Planner product researchOh wow, I didn't realise how long it had been since I updated! Because I'm not uploading everything to Instagram as soon as it's finished <a href="https://asootsprite.blogspot.com/2020/06/blog-post.html">for my experiment</a> I keep forgetting to post anything to anywere! So a giant catch up is definitely in order. But in the meantime, some fun research!<br />
<br />
Now it's autumn stores are full of 2021 diaries and planners which are one of my favourite things to browse. It's such an exciting time for me, getting to pick which planner I want to stare at for the next 365 days! Which is the most practical, and will fit my needs? It's particularly exciting as I currently live in Japan so it's interesting to me to see how planners differ here.<br />
<br />
Because I'm really into the whole planner thing it's always been a dream of mine to one day create my own featuring my illustrations. So I figured as Japan has a lot of cute illustrated planners I'd make the most of being here and buy a few as research so that I've still got them for reference when I eventually have the time and money to invest in creating my own. And I thought I'd share them here, partly because I know this stuff isn't accessible and maybe it'll help others with similar research, partly in the hopes of getting some feedback in what <b>you</b> look for in a planner, and also just to nerd out over planners a little because stationary and art supplies are my favourite thing in the whole world!<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPyFo8uBwB-KNljaq-d-s3t5iVfHrVQYz9R7_Uci1t8Lql-Z0uhFoSPm5U6E9WkXjln-Su3tCa1jIiOJJJdZXWanNzN8sacB1jKjGgl8rM4u0rmr2L86MzGn9pTCte_OlpAEYWXtbI-oG3/s1600/IMG_3412.png" /><br />
These are the three I bought! They're not full planners, these 'schedule planners' seem to be far more popular over here. They're like little exercise books and show each month at more of a glance. For me this isn't detailed enough and I would make more of a full planner with weekly spreads, but these are a nice kind of thing to slip into your bag and take on the go, allowing me to leave my larger planner at home.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9gSehUSDx6o4TkVk6VIByN1xyEVS7LMkNzC8ROy0oPokwRNXptNsDZwfqkVIvlvAGTL2LbOm6JpXt3PbxFzU97Def7Py_TFLiKpkZ_n4SNncoCYXx6DelByMFgHRiMWbjOXvGvIYMVRH/s1600/IMG_3413.png" /><br />
I was particularly drawn to this one because I thought I could reuse the faux leather case with a plainer diary some other year. This obviously isn't a feature I can recreate in something I make and more of an "I want that", but the diary inside is really beautiful.<br />
<br />
<center>
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kSEdMuHRcnoDIEJdksBZTXYy1vSQX60PeWVPCmntxFbKppozVl5scrC0f31HFhMLDMs1tEQ2h-Mp8Heew5g_V3iXHc_XTeRZe-85NB80Wb47gsMWuo6U2KJUGQHtdAdCNl2CiaDryW0H/s1600/IMG_3414.png" /><br />
See?<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFadu9TYfM9Dts0AkjLQIr636Y82BUty1XLwI4sKHirioyj57RCyiYF6oL5JWyurIrNUpPKtIdPtBe_PiENdui7yjjbE1Wutfy-M70nm-A2RD3-qHQwDpQ5jtlt292jo5XQa5S1n4-4-z/s1600/IMG_3415.png" /></center>
Each month has different illustrations, and I love how the illustrations interact with the monthly view with the soot sprites disappearing into the 'crack'. This is something Tove Jansson did a lot with her Moomin comics too, where she'd incorporate the set into the frame of the comic instead of simply drawing boxes.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9pZLnguaEb3NR3Gd8vC8-KO7vaEZsr0ZKmMppO9v6wyDUmZNwmwB_3TBRRfMcUgpX-M_GCE9DmE053yMXKmNuO5EoMKp4mBUPYLNQhH2qpr7egmwyTteC-RK7zsiKuRw1Cb58wWvozEW/s1600/IMG_3417.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2h5xOg2dRO4A1UOt6B98BAErcYrEcqqZOMJLSr4nfwgqPh7xDip1JXF3H9pzduULJ5HZqbBrW1V108ih2SQABjzeya_PkfcEduYmCP9VUgHX0hgZl509zQY3bbE0_TJ2wrwWTiiJOs0z/s1600/IMG_3418.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBjsI7_Lg7-MPUzzs3PdcaFOqu9vpw6tw5D_xRHjEvkANyagZ4VVueesp-djAyaZUa1AxPHD5lBl_wNtYa9IA-5JEEIiQtibPluy0AnZQdMsIEmW4cgjccbM8YgzDE6490PUBKByzFufW/s1600/IMG_3422.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMiAOh5S8Z8ygtBpGOvpsjroo_PiOg3LfcGVUtFwtayaUr_SPIHwoP3aFP4sbT-gkSqsZQUKn_fzvsA_pKJqLRLZelHsDpkswPQxlJlzcKKi317HGn4qH0IYC1q5vPh4XBHEyt-00DxY9/s1600/IMG_3421.png" /><br />
These are my favourites - full colour spreads for the note pages. This is definitely something I want to incorporate. The smaller illustrations in the image above are perforated around the edges of each one, so they can be torn out to make smaller note papers. All of the journals feature this, and it's a really great addition but I'm not sure how easy it would be to recreate independently unfortunately. Again, it shows the illustrations interacting with the practical elements too - the Catbus is walking across the lined paper like they're electric wires, or the lines are the pattern on the screen door.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIa66KxrGHQqx-Bnf1rXswbKyhQwJA-iYzun_-4SMBGw-z8lGk9UTWL8_CFOWX-MnVOjsTxr0gGLVMDtIl30qY_IAgsvPKrifMmV9TY3_2Y-2PNKfKdaTIvfpKSVMSktTI02kSiDZQivjX/s1600/IMG_3402.png" /><br />
Totoro is my favourite Ghibli movie (hence my username!) so obviously I picked those - they had other movies but they were all the same set up so I figured I may as well get the one I actually like. This one is larger than the previous - that one was about A6, this is a similar in size to a Moleskine sketchbook.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9REr3A7Z5Kbz4vbAJYkyCh_b1BkXD38ruk1pn2_a7M1LiZPzfvT-Hoc5aqWrw7ZLgQoT_t3OfglxEOnoKpE9MpLZ_OyKHVe6ukhtKXEoNQIM31E1-bjfzXve92FFw8LJ4OrRVDBz0B84G/s1600/IMG_3403.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZP33ROO_UxN8ID4eXf7c4gFLmFCkj6_0WmsAA5JNJokvqERpXJN17qBjBFeXy81SaG9CGrLVgDOYkYKdFac-NLb7GiEqNYqz4mT8cBxsCp_01_eNSxbPXLnROTS3kLE3HuxkMA9We-iBz/s1600/IMG_3404.png" /><br />
This one features a yearly overview at the beginning, with a much simpler two tone style to the illustrations which are much simpler and don't interact with the layout.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0Gcj3WQ_yhJ8NaCPzV_1lfnUidLMJ9eCQriYNLJMs-AWuhj4QcOl1Oafqc5ff3D5-faIYoPCoHUBeshLtiNtKxpm_Q34abrsl5aDLguQo9eG05yE48lpn7_SCv1v1uQfVqmfXbtTQ2QQ/s1600/IMG_3399.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSu2k3HcsZ4r2N9gj71UPo5AmdUEsasUsUP1PUnvJcn51HJazV5HtHnnECcIV67VhiTOZgSremoznsabeCl1wAaAqdejuYLzLKYJ2c-Take8tKC-Ab65m62mjkQswn68AA9udQ4Q_urgK/s1600/IMG_3398.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPfxc8H-QG1LSU2YqYxpSEsaujKYCvl8huBSKjMIea1xKVpj98xLU6EW7nIwOgylSYmfdx3HfhHCcyb6uKAxDVuQegVGRZfy6ezGvGJgeQaLdL4NF6qLaKx_U_OkogX5wIlYDDg_0my-U/s1600/IMG_3397.png" /><br />
I do enjoy the watercolour theme of these illustrations, but they do overall feel less impressive than the previous planner - and they were the same price! But it's still good to see how the same features can be simplified down as not everyone's illustration style would suit the first full colour planner. Also I'm not far enough into the process yet to have researched manufacturers, but obviously when designing any product the overall cost is a huge factor. So although full bleed full colour spreads with a different illustration for every month sounds ideal, it's more complicated for a manufacturer to be able to do that on a smaller scale that an independent illustrator requires, and no one is going to spend £50 on a planner! I'm nowhere near the design phase yet, but I only mention it as it's probably the biggest factor as to how the end result will come out so it's useful to see how things can be pared back if necessary.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPthcy8D13SVBxM_QP_5zbZehLCdwFh2YV4nJ2JvsCuae1rEgPeGpE8R1piol_qWhPecImjIYGUmoyDJpGD9Tf1PcgddeotbhHePLqwsEBCQnl9nCYph8SLuHOWEpimJ_qY31g6JKO_J7O/s1600/IMG_3411.png" /><br />
I actually have no idea of the characters of this one - I'm not into Anime or Manga so I'm a bit clueless beyond Ghlibi and Sanrio! But artistically this planner was my favourite and gave me the most to think about. I also think the style of the artwork isn't a world away from my own which helps me to imagine things better.<br />
<br />
The zipper down the side is because the back plastic laminate is also a pocket - this is one aspect I have mixed feelings on! Just because if you fill it with anything then it will be visible from the outside as well as covering the artwork on the back of the book, so it can quickly make the journal look a bit junk-y. I prefer a Molekine-esque pocket inside the back cover.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvIxhyphenhyphen_sCvYFVRHw_ue7bAKJqRhWhEqBjmgWlgCFwxhiT-e-Im1KdrZ6DwshL5CB2sR5hFGeQyA3SSwDoOidcyhqy5sRa9GoOtX21xUE0_we24y10WBTrTZ-JpNHGhc_XIshwMo3-F5bd/s1600/IMG_3410.png" /><br />
The first double spread - I actually prefer this to the previous planners grid effect of every day being marked. I find that a bit too cluttered, and realistically the boxes are too small to be able to write anything in so this is much cleaner.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7pdlCNE8qpC0pDAANuNmLLwxrD2QrNTcMsrzzAFo_iBb0hF0uLbefYRKP6Fj40iMcBuH3ius38dYbRDsrPOjN1hc-DOFqFlsEHQr88qPf68gLud4CEyJYWdfIdY9O7pmDjjPwa0jRuF5r/s1600/IMG_3409.png" /><br />
The beautiful monthly spreads! Every single one has a different theme, and I love that it incorporates to-do lists and note sections so it's as practical as it is pretty. <br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASQ3PYYi3d82LSrvREMh6YlopBBt6XLyRZQH_ZlfprjmhB-5728dGHw_wuhxvrMjNrHv2j8EanZucP1sg89xiZf_ORhPc-RZGKyQwl4s-tJOBkw6Ulp68ZkBWRBqnNuTK83RXeZVzyB2r/s1600/IMG_3408.png" /><br />
Each month also shows the moon phases, which I adore. Realistically any planner I create will likely be un-dated as it makes more sense as an investment - why create something with a limited shelf life when I can create something that can be sold continuously until it sells out? So I probably couldn't do this, but I think a way around it could be to include moon phase stickers so that the user can put them on the right dates.<br />
<br />
<center>
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncEwc4uYDy5-_wwtPP9zWyI02vLq7xlOFUeXKbr6yuZkONfb9q0tImv54DohWD5Wt0OB8HHHqqjSrFEtEPxjPBjyorHXQM9zNStqWyjtRjVJ8VlJ_LIiBgGN9BHFNDiIQteCBEJdz1ERy/s1600/IMG_3407.png" /><br />
This planner doesn't have any weekly spreads, just these double pages between each month for notes. <br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-U7r20HRtm6-IgRRkruRPudlIj6rRcPFxgAM16bLYN9Yu6jCnrjMP6Sm6nttz3VdjsNSWlr5ONsTkiKR922TJh_wtNyl1-oqY1wZ_B7yk30_FEs2jXsTIoc1IRTBmJEDRh_haBViLYYW/s1600/IMG_3400.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Q3uoYRngnwiLGl4nEeIrbm2m_cdnEjSyWdtdzklfPGh2dZF6GYvmr_aJw_1PnV9VDfuFAjHSworC8kQIMaURx1q7x88VLosBqU3Cbv4IFwaJOyDi6AFZc_NGKDq_dbfz1qhhqvwbU7bL/s1600/IMG_3406.png" /><br />
And again with the full colour patterned note paper at the back.</center>
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkozBZVNbDwE2mYkrAiKqA0IlI_jnBIQ3xJ5iXjaaHl0HaX-e0WzkdH7SlvmrJeb8R9Bng8a0GnGdyvIxAPdlwnHF5I3bx_5_GZ8FXYMvETWGeEm99JNIrkcGxGG_wMzZkuf-UL1TGwFR/s1600/IMG_3396.png" /><br />
This is my big boy planner that I use - it's by Mossery (unsponsored, I bought it myself!) and I've been using them for years. Whenever I try another brand I always end up coming back, so feature wise this is definitely more of what I prefer but I'd like to be able to create something with more of a middle ground - fully illustrated throughout, but as practical as my big boy planner.<br />
<br />
Now to decide which of these planners I actually use next year! As I may as well make the most of having them. I think I'll likely use the Catbus one for 2021 as my smaller overview planner to take on the go, and then use the other Totoro one the following year as I figure it'll be easy to change the dates on the monthly spreads as it's more plain. I'll likely not use the third as it's so pretty anyway, but I don't know!tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-39108511112708270182020-06-27T15:16:00.001+01:002021-04-06T00:44:09.681+01:00Doubt Comes In<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFXYX5rF1rT3SFoFBFh3RUMOzgrzk9NRIww-XupGsgEoKLJJ6jyRW53Opt_3RQ_VggnbHtXUFThQRucx5IKH72DsvdhNJHzAtY8ciG7bne-fRnc-7AF-6nKb9NGoO7cf2yAM1MAFZqK2n/s1600/ACS_0130.png" /><br />
<br />
I've really fallen head over heels in love with <i>Hadestown</i> lately. I've been listening to it for a long time, but as I've had renewed interest in Greek mythology and love musical theatre so much it's scratching both itches for me. I wanted to go see it when I was in New York but it had recently won it's slew of Tonys and the only seats left were in the nosebleeds and for ridiculous prices considering they were restricted view so I left it - which right now I'm feeling regretful of, especially with everything shut down as it is!<br />
<br />
Originally this was just going to be Orpheus and Eurydice from the myth, but then I figured why try and fight making them look like their musical counterparts and not just go with it? So I did. Reeve Carney kinda looks like my characters anyway so it's perfect! I tried to combine it with the myth, which is why I gave Orpheus an actual lyre and not the guitar he uses in the musical. I took inspiration from <a href="https://i.imgur.com/xjndvBl.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this painting by Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein-Stub</a>, and <a href="http://www.emilybalivet.com/Orpheus_and_Eurydice.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this painting by Emily Balivet</a>.<br />
<br />
My favourite aspect of <i>Hadestown</i> is how it re-characterises these well known figures. Orpheus is quite arrogant in the myth, very sure of himself and his own abilities, and he enters the Underworld with complete certainty that Hades will return Eurydice to him. When he turns back to Eurydice it's with a triumphant air of <i>"I did it!"</i> before he realises that Eurydice isn't in the light yet and so the task is failed. I much prefer the anxious naive Orpheus of the musical, so consumed with self doubt, his journey from optimistically seeing the way the world could be to seeing it the way it is. It makes the tale far more of a tragedy than the original myth for that reason alone because the world beats us all down eventually, as Eurydice knew from the start.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NWk-38vewWHhTVIir1R0Zmq61i7fYqUEbU0uynGXF4iXVLy8caYAiMN75H55QmRObkdppEEU_KUs9WFL3h-_MZJ8gJhor6qDltEyUAjPKZGwx8uJCgCsswO9fIrUBLudZQAj-caKfJKX/s1600/ACS_0125.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9tQtxk4jtiSLoWBh-zZWFAVhLx_of_ZXqKLtow0XFAdWpQt055VTJVFr252pg3C2kqfEoZaJRp-O1k_tuLz2LBFnRBecEFEUXFW979vcjg25YR3LKOPJOEOCepuicQZjRIRA1pcC09aw/s1600/ACS_0129.png" /><br />
<center><blockquote><i>"I'll tell you where the real road lies:<br />
Between your ears, behind your eyes<br />
That is the path to Paradise<br />
Likewise, the road to ruin"</i></blockquote></center>tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-45326005989159630002020-06-26T16:18:00.001+01:002021-04-06T00:44:29.696+01:00Daedalus and Icarus<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9A8dDCsTv0OxEfmgLHPiXHz_iFg9vP03nr7pWrFysOYhU6xrUcCQ4BILAdp02jPEh094GJ7SVnh7f8p2-yg3_LDGKkKdwUsN4ugVmL3qY7Wpsl9iKhCO0uXOfTqQBeU6ZYMGMU9JtO7h2/s1600/ACS_0132.png" /><br />
<br />
I've always really loved Greek mythology. I'm not sure why it's always held such allure to me more so than any other mythology, but it has and as a little girl I carried around an illustrated book of Greek myths everywhere I went in the same way other children carried around security blankets or plush toys. I loved it so much that my mother took me to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephesus">Ephesus</a> when I was 6 so that it could be brought even more to life for me (I think she was kind of hoping I'd grow up to be a learned historian, but no such luck!). I was <i>obsessed</i> when Disney released <i>Hercules</i> and combined my two biggest interests into one, and as a teen I developed some minor internet popularity for creating a series of illustrations around <a href="https://i.imgur.com/wq2j8Jo.png" target="_blank">Disney's Hades</a> and <a href="https://i.imgur.com/L2hZkXJ.png" target="_blank">my own design of Persephone</a> that blended the traditional mythology with the Disney universe. Because it was something I began to be recognised for drawing for a long while it became all I drew, and naturally from that I went the other way and completely lost interest. I don't know what's piqued it again recently, but I'm back and I can't get enough!<br />
<br />
I didn't really think about this too much as I was painting it, I just had an image in mind that I wanted of Daedalus reaching for his son Icarus and just went for it. First page of a brand new sketchbook and I approached it without a second thought, a bravery I'll likely never see again! I messed up in that I forgot to make Daedalus look older than Icarus, and by the point I realised it was too far in and if I'd given him white or grey hair it would've thrown off the whole palette and distracted from his wings, so I just gave him some grey temples and hoped for the best. Hopefully the myth is obvious enough to get away with it!<br />
<br />
I coloured the sun with a gold sharpie, and I love the contrast it gives the piece. The rest is gouache, touched up with a little coloured pencil for the outlining and such. I'm enjoying painting a lot lately. I turned to digital as I didn't feel like I could get the results I wanted from traditional mediums with a cohesive colour palette, but I feel like painting digitally has taught me how to paint traditionally too.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_dSYUKTOLhMAYlK68weFVRLJuOYbG4we1r5Ehggg_HGcbS9Kn8Wke-C3AG6T0GTUhO99wkCAXfD_MaVYKQ8GTXrqsP1PblM6hcjq6AUlEMefuP40ZUEv7Ssrslk_rxG-VToGehw_X1v1t/s1600/ACS_0131.png" />tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-13213196090825086472020-06-25T15:48:00.001+01:002021-04-06T00:44:43.046+01:00Sister Alyonushka, Brother Ivanushka<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UD9dan_EEW9wHPnLrk8Q7k-h_6ljd403ng-Vt40FmuSPoc8f4hBCpy2FT5Yd3YrkZLGmWrYtg81ZRoAveEjiqFCMG4GLBN2Zmh5JRhMVrvtnbnJoQ5XQj1p6HP3-RKcCLDIDC-UA73E2/s1600/ACS_0127.png"><br />
<br />
<a href="https://asootsprite.blogspot.com/2020/06/blog-post.html">Another</a> Russian folktale, this one based on Sister Alyonushka, Brother Ivanushka. You can read the whole tale <a href="https://russian-crafts.com/russian-folk-tales/alionushka-tale.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. As in a lot of these stories they were orphaned as children and set out across the forest so Alyonushka could find work. Her younger brother Ivanushka soon grows thirsty on the long journey and begs for water each time he sees it, but each time Alyonushka says no and warns that he'll be transformed into various animals. Finally he's so thirsty that he doesn't stop to ask at the next spring, and Alyonushka is devastated to see him transform into a goat. There's much more to the tale, and you'll be glad to know that it works out happily - Ivanushka is able to save his sisters life and gets transformed back into a boy.<br />
<br />
It definitely has elements of <a href="https://decider.com/2020/02/07/pinocchio-80-anniversary-donkey-scene/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>that</b> scene in <i>Pinocchio</i></a>. I feel inclined to say that Ivanushka was less deserving of the punishing transformation as literally all he wanted was a glass of water, whereas Lampwick and co got up to all kinds of shenanigans - but really no one ever deserved <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgmfV5VLHvs" target="_blank">that</a>.</i><br />
<br />
Anyway, when I was deciding to draw The Armless Maiden I initially couldn't decide which folktale to illustrate so I decided to go with both. I've never drawn a goat before, but I think it came out OK? I tried to include elements to hint that all isn't what it seems by giving him the same coloured fur and eyes and Alyonushka.tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-77616853627398114602020-06-24T13:52:00.003+01:002024-02-26T00:15:53.128+00:00Inside my sketchbookLike I said in <a href="https://asootsprite.blogspot.com/2020/06/blog-post.html">my last post</a>, I've been drawing a lot in my sketchbook lately and thought I'd offer a peek at what I've been working on. Not all of it's finalised, much of it is simple sketches that are waiting to be digitally coloured, but I always enjoy 'behind the scenes' glimpses so figured I'd offer one!<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Bjhp_zU2p2mdpowACR1jFxbaPngjU-HCtJvILrLRMt90eLIPbpEEJXYHyXKxK1j-uOjxxAkNgV2lO0CRUDsVoPGa3so-CFdcQ608YQm3S0dq0SJl5acq6lARooVjL4uSEu-MvxCm-Whb/s1600/ACS_0138.png" /><br />
<br />
Y'all know how I love to draw a ballpoint portrait of Aaron Tveit 😅 I found this photo saved on my iPad when I was clearing it out and realised that I'd meant to draw it way back. I actually find drawing portraits a good way to unwind, and I like to stay on top if my skills. In the past I've either focused exclusively on realism or exclusively on illustration and then gotten frustrated when I've lost skills in the other.<br />
<br />
I am often asked if I'll do portrait commissions, and I'm afraid the answer will always be no. It's something I do for fun and it's difficult for me to put my heart into it when I don't care about who I'm drawing, which is why I draw the same people over and over. It's also why I stopped sharing my portraits for a long time as I didn't want to create a business of it and get stuck drawing strangers.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYQWWHRTtDzryFRNIVIzRevbj2eOBZkJFxlFiDdNXAE0dFwBkUBY5bwW0Jx7WYbO49zeu5ZVTXM77p9HS5IKMcGKoTFkulyXktA3bA3LWbBSQorYP2cbzbgBoJehGpwmiAV4aZa-cgAdP/s1600/ACS_0136.png" /><br />
<br />
Dmitri and Anya from <i>Anastasia</i>, they'll be coloured digitally at some point. I wanted them to be similar in style to my <a href="https://asootsprite.blogspot.com/2018/11/elphaba-and-glinda.html"><i>Wicked</i> illustrations</a>, with the background elements specific to each character. Dmitri is in St Petersburg, and supposed to look like he's casually playing with the music box by throwing it from hand to hand - I was really stumped with how to pose him, and this was the first character illustration I'd done like this in a long while so I felt like I was getting back into it. Anya came much easier, and it shows in her more natural posing and flow. Pooka is perhaps too small, but eh. There's the sign in the background where she meets her crossroad - one pointing to St Petersburg, one to the Fishermans Market where she's been given a job out of the orphanage. It's a pivotal moment for her, so it felt like the perfect backdrop. I just changed the writing to Cyrillic because that's the one thing that bothers me about the movie - in all of the Russian locations, all of the background writing is in English and I think it's details like that that can really solidify a setting - or not in this case. Especially as I watch the film with Russian audio so it's even more jarring!<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_epjpOqeXHn_cAX_tV5pEjpLD9qcviRE_hX_ZW08rENf5nKaoubbnEMMm9zL-4bUUCOTYv_u9e34x0tIL4RiQuH7t-k5G6c-UX2jTPl2ay4R74V8Tjrk9zbc6lrS80lm_jen56uwZY5V/s1600/ACS_0137.png" /><br />
<br />
I got some new Copic markers and wanted to try them out, so I sketched this based on a publicity photo of the London production of <i>Wicked</i>. I love this scene in the musical because it's so short but so telling of how the distance between Glinda and Fiyero is growing.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih5rSK491YkuIJ76JtBKe33cg05B4D_pFc3cfDj2MUUmnHVXuE2-1_5H1zUHrS2Sh_kL79gDQQls6-ettE-a8c1lZg6QSVkqw22sRsC-RxL0BFZdLDkQrZJ9nWuanxsJ7SYRAjFXA6Z31A/s1600/ACS_0116.png" /><br />
<br />
Another sketch to be coloured digitally. I've always liked the movie <i>The Little Mermaid </i>but it's never been my favourite, but it's really growing on me lately. I'm at a point in my life that I can relate to Ariel more, and that feeling of being stuck and yearning for change and the freedom to be who you want to be. Which isn't a million miles from why I relate so strongly to Elsa, who is my favourite, and they're both obviously Hans Christian Andersen characters so I thought I'd create a little homage to that.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_okP5FuFizF701YDidaq02bwx4akh5DyEGzvZbve2Hit379p5pxonaYp7FCS1DlkzBw6IGOVamESU6vf1vyyxd9pk8h1IazuEwSjnuC0YDhJBtEWHzjIGX0m5VixTjFdp13FndniUkIfR/s1600/ACS_0139.png" /><br />
<br />
Hans looking suitably pissy which is my favourite way of drawing him, and I tried to add some little historical details to his outfit as I've fallen down a rabbit hole of watching historical costumers on YouTube and those videos showing what the princesses would look like historically accurate. No one ever does the princes or focuses on male historical fashion which is a shame I think, I'm almost tempted to try and perhaps create a little series of them myself. And a ballpoint portrait of Mika, my other fave who I draw all of the time! I want to try and translate him to my illustrative style some time and see how it works, as he is very distinctive so wouldn't be that difficult.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistPlt1wDFy4u6pXk8NJrDIFoB9IobXiHLx3Zb6NMwjtUhBX9OuUKOPXkUJ1Jb-hj2A0bknCySOwzOvD7Fyu5Wexq1AN3GXu31i5LCFoHy_7TP_6nZzIMiPoutGqxR9CK04-70-T4fe-Aq/s1600/ACS_0140.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcO0z6Ao8lgEUSAeU__Q3Kl1AvvXMNYi5acXdwiacSmrX48fbiQsTHt4l2U1Fts5yWn4JxLg1T4X1P7jfiwv2_qjRehAlnVk9P7AS-rH9EAoQ5JTiLT9UIrqT5vwsQa10lMWU8ezivaowN/s1600/ACS_0141.png" /><br />
<br />
I don't know if I've mentioned about it on this blog before, but when I was doing my foundation degree I created a whole illustrated book of the original tale of <i>The Snow Queen</i>. I found the original book I'd created when I was clearing through stuff to move and it felt a bit cringey to me now as my skills have developed so I decided to update it. I'll go into it all in more detail when I've finalised and digitally coloured some of them, but these are some of the rough sketches I'm working with right now. I'm super excited for how they're coming out! I obviously don't want it to reference <i>Frozen</i> as it's such a different story even if it is what inspired it, but as I'm such a fan of <i>Frozen</i> I have thrown in little 'easter eggs' here and there, such as basing elements of Kai on my design of Hans - I made <a href="https://heylittlesongbird.blogspot.com/2020/05/beware-frozen-heart.html">a big post</a> on my personal blog about how I feel Hans is an interpretation of Kai anyway, so it fit. It won't be too obvious where you think "OK that's Hans", but enough to link the two when you think about it.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hJNnkKZ0InDBFKZI18Rh-2n0LwAsFBIyoxivzA87bQZ9eCSe3iWzr9Brg_PgvqVQwZQw312NmL4IBTqIBBwRrwAaATREA-5EYHNiBMm7hLYPGCQHaOeD2rd6F2OARMX5emOS_EuXWog8/s1600/ACS_0115.png" /><br />
<br />
I've been drawing so much that I had to buy a new sketchbook! I've nearly finished my Leuchtturm, which is a shame as they're my brand of choice and not easily available here. I picked up a Handbook Travelogue Journal which I've been intrigued about for a while, and got the watercolour edition as I'm really enjoying painting lately. I've already begun, but you'll see more of that soon!tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-20077138383484766102020-06-23T09:50:00.003+01:002024-02-26T00:24:20.953+00:00БезручкаI've been drawing a lot lately - more than I think I ever have before? I don't know where all of the inspiration and drive is coming from, but it feels endless. A lot of it is currently in progress; works that are sketched and being held up by needing to be digitally coloured. I want to take the backlog to do an experiment of sorts on Instagram. I know the platform favours those who post everyday, which really isn't artist friendly and promotes quick, disposable art that's easy to both create and consume which makes me sad. But at the same time there feels no getting away from it while it's still people's preferred platform of choice. I've tried Twitter and had even less success, how anyone gets their work noticed on there is beyond me. My Instagram account has been stagnant for a while as my posting is so sporadic, so I've decided to just completely avoid posting there until I've got this mass of work I'm currently working on finished, and then I shall attempt posting everyday and see how much truth is in the theory. So all of that to say that this blog will be kept far more up to date than my Instagram for the time being!<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwwANr5LExh75IoyO4JkChyX50aPFhs_zSDZDgMqCLvzt5m3dZioMm-TzEdbc17ef8o2Xjh1YhCE5l9ZnsFWOoZsf3G7eFUmYJVR9k5cq3UL7FTZTfZ2d8SDv61e9zuG0jcUH4O56ELd6/s1600/ACS_0128.png" /><br />
<br />
One of my lifelong fascinations and artistic inspirations has always been Russian and Slavic folktales. It was my main focus for <a href="https://asootsprite.blogspot.com/2018/11/folktale-week.html">Folktale Week</a>, and that art has always been some of my favourite that I've created and I've wanted to illustrate something similar for a long time. So I began looking up various Russian folktales to see which one sparked my interest and came across Безручка, or 'The Armless Maiden'. It tells the tale of an orphaned brother and sister, and when the brother marries he takes his sister to live with him and his new wife. The wife dislikes the sister and pulls all kinds of tricks to accuse her, but the brother is never angered. It culminates with the wife giving birth and cutting the head off of her own baby which she then accuses the sister of doing, and in retaliation the brother takes his sister out into the woods, cuts off her arms at the elbow, and leaves her there. <br />
<br />
The sister wanders through the woods weeping, until she finally comes across a town and she marries a merchant's son who falls madly in love with her. He leaves his pregnant wife with his parents to go on a journey, and tells them to send word as soon as his child is born. The armless maiden gives birth to a son who has golden arms to his elbow, a moon on his forehead, and a sun on his heart. Word is sent to the merchant's son, but her brother's wife is still obsessed with ruining her life even though they haven't seen each other in years and she intercepts the letter and replaces it with one telling the merchants son that the baby boy is half wolf and half bear. The merchants son wrote back his support, which was again intercepted and replaced with a letter to his parents telling them to send his wife away with the child, so they strap the baby to her chest and cast her out.<br />
<br />
When wandering through the woods the maiden stops to drink from a well, but her baby falls in and she weeps as there's no way she can save her baby without her arms. A random old man (who himself doesn't help but offers his sagely advise like they always do in these tales) tells her to reach into the well anyway, and she does and her arms grow back and she's able to save her baby. She ends up finding her brothers home, where coincidentally her husband is also randomly staying, and tells them what her brothers wife has done. Her brother ties his wife's braid to a mare and sends it across the fields, and when the mare returns only her braid is left of her.<br />
<br />
It's pretty gruesome, which is typical of all folk and fairy tales - The Brothers Grimm and common European tales have been <b>highly</b> sanitised and edited over the years to make them more palatable for modern sensibilities. But I was still quite shocked at the brutality of the scenes with the brother, but it's important to recognise the symbolism in these stories as they're never intended to be taken at face value and were a way of passing on messages or warnings in the days of old. And so I recognised that the dismemberment could represent any traumatic experience, and the subsequent journey the maiden goes on shows how there will always be many more obstacles to overcome even when it seems like things are better. It's about the ability to not just endure, but to strengthen and regenerate as many times as you have to, and it tells readers that although they may feel alone in their journey, there are always others who have walked the same path before.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhga6xT2Rj2fKnQT3B2PIScPee5Bk0OX_qDfHk0xfYYOymOvOlNqswFc9fBL9QNXcrnxUXdgjWkDEILpV0xsp-MzZz0qcTDa6VgzyZr0_LqgvwsOBkMApIcYyxWY85y-L3JB6FPyInCa23Y/s1600/ACS_0142.png" />
Although it's a fairly long tale, I knew which part I wanted to illustrate on my first reading and I'm really pleased with how it came out. I had some <a href="https://deleterusa.com/collections/screentones">Deleter screen tones</a> which I'd picked up out of curiosity the last time I was at the art supply store. Now I live in Japan I'm having a lot of fun exploring new art supplies. I don't know if these screen tones are used in the West, but I understand they're popular in traditional creation of Manga. Comics and manga really aren't my area of interest and I know nothing about it, but I wanted to just see what using these were like and whether they could be incorporated into my work. <br />
<br />
I'd hoped that it would add a sense of depth to the background, but I think because the colours are already dark that it's barely noticeable and doesn't make much difference! I'm definitely going to try again on something less colourful though. I guess they're usually used on grayscale or even just lineart pieces, but I don't want my work to take on a graphic or 'comic-y' look and would rather try and see if I can get the screens to work with my art, rather than adapt my work to fit the screens.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBU-NAABC6yJ5Iii0gVGnsal-bRvKlbtKZ1sRRaingsHEIz-QOWrx6RlAUbEyt48jTO2SkQ3Pn8ncgkYy06cCzpQ8qjz8W75WsMY_PdlEIT994dKa3AIWrJ_4543pjAP27vkUmyPT3E0oq/s1600/ACS_0143.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The other half of the screen tone. It's sticky backed and transparent once you peel the backing paper off, and it's made up of tiny little dots. You can get them in all kinds of patterns.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-3476070552143516202020-04-28T13:58:00.003+01:002024-02-26T00:26:24.347+00:00"It's not lying...it's looking at things another way"<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZnG9iMYwpQLuHKtuVi0P1GoKSlCjLpN_Ny7OPqTMXVqqghol4VzqpRyECD6iqu-0xqaKYonOk9YdHc1QYxmpbeDJuUMvNGUSeUA9d_92pE-UnQVB2c6LtnqsuflRFaX3vXn2tkM5c1Ds/s1600/f%252Be+wm.png"><br />
<br />
I'd mentioned before how I found some old art peices when sorting through some old sketchbooks recently, and decided to rework some of my ideas. This is based on what I believe is my first ever <i>Wicked</i> fan art from I wanna say 2011-ish? It was around the time I first discovered I liked the soundtrack after avoiding it for years due to teenage pretension (all of the other theatre geek girls loved it and I wanted to be different so avoided it like the plague only to discover it was actually really good, I think we've all been there at some point right?), but I hadn't actually <i>seen</i> the show yet so didn't really know how it was staged beyond photos I'd seen and what I imagined in my head when listening to it. This wasn't even really my art style of the time so I guess I was experimenting and I don't think I was feeling it back then either as I don't have anything else drawn with these big heads. I liked my general idea though, which is why I wanted to revisit it and I guess it's a bit of one of those 10 year challenges even if I didn't mean it to be! There is a certain satisfaction in seeing that the subject matter I enjoy drawing really hasn't changed in all of this time, it feels very authentic.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURSm1eO1dx3M2_kdb06F88UV5z_WoiLfB9EPL4I1mLoCXfKunvt0Mu1YWqveCINbv9MNl2jMk3tjfErh-iv5RVlZlx0ZAAvSbj3ryyBhpIETol1P4fSCMmO4ylDiqUnN3Ys7Kvmes7LRn/s1600/IMG_2716.png"><br />
<br />
The original artwork, and the redrawn sketch. I don't know if I've ever shared how I work, but I like to draw traditionally then photograph the sketch with my iPad which I draw directly over in Procreate. I can sketch easily directly into the app and have done occasionally, but it gives me a use for sketchbooks and I prefer the more tactile feeling of drawing with a real pencil. Plus it gives me a definite record of before and afters, which would otherwise get lost in the layers of a digital painting. <a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19545799/?claim=7juky4t4pzf"></a>tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-65223161377344480002020-03-02T23:45:00.001+00:002021-04-06T01:22:07.388+01:00Inside my sketchbookWell, I didn't mean to leave it quite this long! Happy 2020! I've actually been working on my artwork a lot this year, I'm about a third of the way in to my sketchbook already just from drawing so much! But it's not really anything 'sellable' in that it's either work done purely for myself, or things to be completed at a later date, but I thought I'd give a peek anyway. It's something I always feel a bit weird about, as on the one hand I want to share work I'm proud of, but on the other social media is such an odd place now in that everything has to be "professional" and "on brand" and it doesn't leave any room to just play. It feels like long gone are the days where I'd just share a picture of something I've made just for the excitement of having created it, and that's a shame. I don't always draw the exact same way all of the time, it'd be boring, and sometimes I like to draw stuff just for me. And that OK! It's actually very healthy.<br />
<br />
I've been drawing a lot of portraits in ballpoint pen, and I really feel I've hit my stride with it. I only began drawing with a ballpoint last year, so I'm enjoying seeing my own progress and confidence grow with the medium. Before I was terrified of not being able to erase and making a mistake, but it's not that scary anymore! I've really got to grips (heh) with holding the pen and being able to make different marks with it. It's funny to think that when I drew pencil portraits I'd have about 8 different grades of pencil, now I just use the same 80p Bic for the whole thing. I love drawing these as they're a great way to just switch off my brain, I'll put a movie on in the background and have one eye on that while I work. Plus they're a great way of working on my fundamental drawing skills. They are <b>all</b> Aaron Tveit and Mika because I am unashamed XD<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXLQCcuy89-h9l2TCJIUODvNBSOgxy0_pvdlPtIantQ01G4edbiTU_p36B5pkYVB0S0UxmCVFgV2_QH6LYEAE83f4EsALEiU23NVUZDTFTqLZrmlNAW5Hjikc8TP_IaaYFZmkdIoGuQdDK/s1600/IMG_1435.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIC8MuBOZ3umVto1n2au0FepqT56gYAE1fTWt11pjMw0ur7RkhchjNmiiXVagUtyW80NvBOez4kIucSuHnIzn4viPoEO3RThPF6kuxc5LgWrKAs2tICx_CyVji9OJyo1AiDTlhhcewQNt/s1600/IMG_1432.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVOTyAq1aJmqZPNGle9xskuw_gUfi0zyoMq4aCdLZGLspnRxvcRHKVS0s2VGLSLA8Eq166pjej4hd3qDEy8UqyZQqLJiCt9EHrWuWv1sCxIyJry5KI4tpbaBCgacA185St-YvFae7sBqS/s1600/IMG_1437.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjue5ZiRrBtmf9EBpzciUEboHPl8nXyfDYlVVvvh7RJ41ZBxs2lgEmGtd36w_S9hB-VDwNI8EEtoKqH7T44ok9fEGXSeyfL9rDdcAVu6t_-0bFUaVbdNft8aeVm5t4KZ7kKZB8XdTB_4oIF/s1600/IMG_1483.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLgOxzRhB6vwpKDkH7uW-wGVG0eFcHykjey_g-F32slBceJkRZsTKENInt-JpCHYclToxf-Q2hK7hob_pgPO-uBRo6SafCu6Zq0jk-K4UVxOfpKQ1caQS1TBwj4uJ2RnsPN4ZBQmx-NdG/s1600/IMG_1487.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLr_9x08M1SDqrse1SJ7OYqD4cVe5Y6MMwJPCLTtvpHkmF0alO4FxClZyFjj0JGPkULN4Zv9E-BfzWk1TByFMoRDcHSASLZ38d4qhIzpp6rvyhopUieq-k0PdxAVTGYcMdwKgs9lf0wfT5/s1600/IMG_1556.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzCq5oqraDSz0D9bbi5-Yheh2hUSgZY5M_ZcXHATbQwX6CLV_bil-QKh2dG28zVac3JxgTitc1QFLqvEr__DURO-QMNXg826U4p0wAi63NTFYfrDi4LJOrCuXRQO0E5bDeWVkDRQZ0cvB/s1600/IMG_1566.png" /><br />
<br />
I've also been really into <i>The Prince of Egypt</i> lately. It's long been one of my favourite movies and I've been excited about the stage adaptation since I first heard of it as I firmly believe it's got one of the best soundtracks of any movie, ever. Unfortunately the stage adaptation <a href="https://heylittlesongbird.blogspot.com/2020/02/you-must-learn-to-join-dance.html">wasn't great</a>, but it did inspire me to draw the characters from the movie and see how they look in my style. I drew Joseph from <i>Joseph: King of Dreams</i> too, which had the same creative team and I also love. I want to photograph these sketches and play around with them in Procreate at some point, so you might see them again in full colour further down the line. It gave me an interesting challenge of drawing facial hair which I usually avoid, but I think it came out OK? I'm always very conscious of trying to draw different ethnicities too, especially as these movies are so great for portraying people of colour without white washing. It's something I'm always conscious of when I draw Fiyero too as he is canonically not white and I generally focus on nose shape and bone structure, but I'm never sure how well it comes across. It's something I'm very aware of though and working on! I don't want to be one of those artists that just paints characters a different shade of brown and calls it a day.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6RS0aaMewgd_B2H_y7wBuYYLvKkHPtWEHO6tN-0iZ65OOMdmMLd3SFOF_VnOoCa9mWmQePDV2crQ-mA5-bRSDgtruMdf_K8fm86-czK11jH0Zsh0MvD7C0RDwzeYdGJ2RvIvBeIGCaLv/s1600/IMG_1553.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1TyzbRN0rnHvcqCn7gTCswKwB9uaonJBYXF3KEmjj9V-hHEADHuOh32JuzPCOkmkP9DlhPHR4T7kC628E0ydeStt55CN5-lOfD0Ao56K-rdJAqBNrXV6DH2zu8Ainya8nVURtyhBTAEAR/s1600/IMG_1554.png" /><br />
<br />
When sorting through things I found an old sketchbook from about 10 years ago or so, and it's funny seeing how I used to work compared to now, I think old me would be pretty mind blown to see my current sketchbook! It was mostly half finished sketches, and what was finished I was clearly working within my limitations and not pushing myself. I didn't keep the sketchbook as honestly most if it was embarrassing and I don't see the point in holding on to everything I ever drew (do you have any idea how much stuff I'd have to keep for that??) but I did tear out a few pages of things I thought had potential. I've re-sketched them and plan to work on them on my iPad when I have the time. I love that my themes of what I drew haven't changed all that much!<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8weopmv3wCTkslS6gYRZ8gnm7WRmzWEH_7R5hYRC54GpnactCdc2UOFTHhvGm1zzFXD1vr5duGPt0xB1R1W4q-c2J8GvxPsHsvpJ8fsbjhmXKrByl0DatRny0FMF_WdwQ1CPcGdVrOSm/s1600/IMG_1563.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5OnokvPTE4hYfepzxUwnV0Eijolal78c6KDoY-mKWQUboBidcRKYIAUcU6NrBM6Gy0EtwUj0SeDB-2XT9hl4a5pUhuc8-WkihBmZDySp92b-xkobSmdl4QL7Sgqt3jwP6dShHNfLuGDM/s1600/IMG_1568.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioozct7ICyNkfKIbuSPOvQFXaQKtMhKXwv4FDPZR20FrmgfQm_shO5KY0Ht66ZIO1m-4fEXiN9vgEr8h1nWvMfqaGtneseTPIsDrY0iDtdLOB1GcBeSBgH6qXBPxkCYWsfCXLKvmTx3ZQ5/s1600/IMG_1558.png" />tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-75060817635898406932019-12-27T00:02:00.000+00:002019-12-27T00:02:04.784+00:00Sketchbook tour<center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HTtjQLxiPfs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><br />
I forgot to share it sooner, but I finally posted a sketchbook tour for YouTube! I've actually got another one waiting to be uploaded too, as this video took me so long to edit. I'm looking forward to getting more into YouTube in 2020.tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-32702921343117697062019-12-26T22:19:00.001+00:002021-04-06T00:46:35.641+01:00Recent artworks<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNAR4ZSpXbuhXiLruSPLdzUkU48WwqXummxX6i_fxiredgsLWMbxHQWIfUMB0llNz1wVBvL2Yyrk3NTRqu0_dLAfyBhE9GIihfugAZicyYlg9GAxaqhFQNNmKxeyVt_-S7DnsqTMn9cIQb/s1600/IMG_2305.png" imageanchor="1"><img alt="joker joaquin phoenix portrait sketch" border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNAR4ZSpXbuhXiLruSPLdzUkU48WwqXummxX6i_fxiredgsLWMbxHQWIfUMB0llNz1wVBvL2Yyrk3NTRqu0_dLAfyBhE9GIihfugAZicyYlg9GAxaqhFQNNmKxeyVt_-S7DnsqTMn9cIQb/s640/IMG_2305.png" title="" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5HkjPpJ1-wchM_FHfR2M3uJavs4H5UQgJ8BWwAWHuBkY_GfxyJNDm2ueLMI3u7h2BDlqAIku1auzqkipnOVw0nuio057zAS8CeC99zvRKf8M34bCR2A4xrQy3Xr5hMjq3WgpcGpuQFpjD/s1600/IMG_2306.png" imageanchor="1"><img alt="mika ballpoint portrait sketch" border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5HkjPpJ1-wchM_FHfR2M3uJavs4H5UQgJ8BWwAWHuBkY_GfxyJNDm2ueLMI3u7h2BDlqAIku1auzqkipnOVw0nuio057zAS8CeC99zvRKf8M34bCR2A4xrQy3Xr5hMjq3WgpcGpuQFpjD/s640/IMG_2306.png" title="" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRULvdvdNKXUZH1reR8XoAMCsqCElZrYjq3EJynYML8gy8mqhpsIJg0AufE42y2UTawqVFrWAihyphenhyphenn9-Nduezjhbl30hj3h9pEI2K_Bty35XYrf9KL5n7Xu85pBXBZdOS9W461tbvgj_nO/s1600/IMG_2307.png" imageanchor="1"><img alt="aaron tveit ballpoint portrait sketch" border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRULvdvdNKXUZH1reR8XoAMCsqCElZrYjq3EJynYML8gy8mqhpsIJg0AufE42y2UTawqVFrWAihyphenhyphenn9-Nduezjhbl30hj3h9pEI2K_Bty35XYrf9KL5n7Xu85pBXBZdOS9W461tbvgj_nO/s640/IMG_2307.png" title="" width="640" /></a></center><br />
I've been drawing a lot of portraits lately as I find it fun and it's good to draw things for me, but it's something I always feel a little unsure of sharing as although I'm proud of them I don't want people thinking it's part of my 'brand' as an illustrator. It's a whole side of art business that I struggle with honestly, as it feels nowadays like you have to have your one aesthetic and stick to it but I'd get so bored! And honestly I think it's good to be versatile. But saying that, I don't think I'd ever want to do portraits as commissions as it'd no doubt lead to drawing people I don't care about which wouldn't be fun for me, so I keep them as just a hobby.<br />
<br />
I used to draw portraits quite a lot with pencils, but because I'm a perfectionist I hated them if they weren't super photo realistic and it really sucked the fun out of it. So last year I began drawing them with ballpoint pens, something that scared me silly at the beginning as it's so permanent so there's obviously no way of erasing if you make a mistake, but it's actually really liberating and I feel I've learnt a lot from being forced to work with my mistakes. Because these are just for fun, they're all in my sketchbook. The top is Joaquin Phoenix in <i>Joker</i>, as it's turned out to be my favourite movie of the year and I'm lowkey obsessed. Second is Mika which is mt favourite of the three (look at those pinstripes!!), and lastly is Aaron Tveit which whilst I like, I had issues with my pen blobbing while I was drawing it (why do they do this though??)<br />
<br />
<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkeWp8bXFb02D64icprVgUwskKmkn_aRQD7gIWqCatJP5mn-C0csfbLmZVA4-dBojP1aVbzy4zpnLbqudv8zL776WuoSpklRve8ZFQaPf-eMpqRtj29sMu6XMKaD9KGEXgtt1vsmWGshP/s1600/moulin+rouge+soot+watermark.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkeWp8bXFb02D64icprVgUwskKmkn_aRQD7gIWqCatJP5mn-C0csfbLmZVA4-dBojP1aVbzy4zpnLbqudv8zL776WuoSpklRve8ZFQaPf-eMpqRtj29sMu6XMKaD9KGEXgtt1vsmWGshP/s640/moulin+rouge+soot+watermark.png" width="640" /></a></center><br />
And here's two other illustrations I've been working on. Above is from the Broadway adaptation of <i>Moulin Rouge</i>, and it's how they end Act 1 with Elephant Love Medley. I'm not keen on how the song has been reworked honestly, but visually it's amazing, and I had fun trying to translate specific people into my art style whilst still making it look like them, as usually I draw fictional characters so likeness isn't so important. <br />
<br />
<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyoLIgQzx72g6Lrz6H-VR_9jihaTxsYOJHTrLAmY6lWO6J_PmTd-VOTr6Y0Ya9m6645WujVyAj1OZulg1dwYoL7xW5a5Uc_NE_aORpBAv7kE0vzaneZrni47FFnNw1z1F8o2avstKnaz68/s1600/finale+soot+watermark.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyoLIgQzx72g6Lrz6H-VR_9jihaTxsYOJHTrLAmY6lWO6J_PmTd-VOTr6Y0Ya9m6645WujVyAj1OZulg1dwYoL7xW5a5Uc_NE_aORpBAv7kE0vzaneZrni47FFnNw1z1F8o2avstKnaz68/s640/finale+soot+watermark.png" width="640" /></a></center><br />
And this is from the finale scene of <i>Wicked</i>, and uh, spoiler alert? But Fiyero gets turned into the Scarecrow and I've always felt like he gets vastly overlooked within fan circles when this is a huge thing he goes through and a major sacrifice. I've always felt particularly attached to Fiyero though after reading the novel, his character is a lot more developed in that so I guess if you haven't read it it's easy not to care about what happens to him as he doesn't have a lot of stage time. This is actually a reworking of <a href="https://asootsprite.blogspot.com/2018/11/its-not-lyingits-looking-at-things.html">an art piece I did a year ago</a>, which was in the midst of when I was finding my style, and because I was working on so much artwork at that time it felt outdated for how I was working even then. I really loved the concept though, and knew I wanted to revisit it at some point so I'm glad I now have a version to be proud of and feels more cohesive with my body of work.tiny lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13229278732811510568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-61059154282032678972019-10-31T20:01:00.002+00:002021-04-06T01:24:12.097+01:00Completing InktoberI've completed Inktober! I can't quite believe it to be honest, I didn't actually have much hope that I'd complete the whole month. I figured I'd manage to keep up with the first week then fall behind, get overwhelmed, and quit. And I didn't! And what's more, I've really enjoyed my Inktober experience. Like I explained in my previous post, I haven't technically done Inktober 'properly' - I ignored the prompt list for two thirds of the month, and I've worked in more mediums than just ink (but I did <b>mostly</b> use ink). But mastering ink was never my goal, sticking to a prompt list was never my goal and was only there to fall back on. My goals were to simply draw every day to get back into a more productive workflow and just see where that took me, and hopefully through the act of drawing every day to become less of a perfectionist with my work. And now I'm at the other end of it looking back, I thought I'd share what the experience has taught me, along with a selection of the pieces I've created.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUx7zQAB08HGzGbH1g4DQik6qrskMEoiOGW9x9xUKoLfFlQtcbDHa48kc6Z4czC_sx2ELnCW6F42g5csI50D-EDAsXnzoJes-7bCD7u85Qyn4bOWhkKi0fox5IOc_jqVYXRon1i1IgbE3v/s1600/IMG_1934.png" /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bed94k1qcnNeIrxuOqGCq11cGcNNljPYwinCY57yW_rb7KHgn-vmtuyviIp6PTkqKUKS2FIi_zFBJChQ27ae_Y3iEITUn9QUBNlTmorEG9lm_q1KJFZbW8zCWLJeOF9G6aYUqs04jmDH/s1600/IMG_1935.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Top: 04 + 05 - Pruitt from <i>Big Sky</i> | Bottom: 02 - Inktober prompt 'mindless'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>The biggest lesson of all this month was simply that sitting down to draw doesn't have to be a big deal.</b> Often I'll procrastinate opening my sketchbook as I only have an hour or so and feel like that's not enough time, but I've realised that it <i>is</i> more than enough so long as I use that time wisely. I've also realised that even if I don't feel like drawing when I begin, I will once I actually start. And because drawing is no longer such a big deal, it's resulted in me drawing more. I've knocked out two portraits this month, which is usually something I'd think about for about a week prior and feel like I had to set aside a full day to create, but I just got on and did it and I really enjoyed the process. I guess I'm just learning to let go and doodle better instead of only drawing full-blown illustrations, and that's definitely a good thing! <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPZs_QQ1SxSrSFtz-mbg1wkfTCZ5WLyUpwMgXMDn-zqHDQmq3kpCMR_TD-lYtiqrfwdFHFm8XC5DZCXeOU5OGqELx-t7JF4YF9XUZHHGdukj9jm7Ruhc3Ud2PdrshzVt_fe5jSzvMq_SG/s1600/IMG_1930.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">07 + 08 - Inktober prompts 'enchanted' and 'snow'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Because my drawing time had been so sporadic and it had usually been a few weeks since I last drew anything, I'd always start by feeling rusty and unsure of my abilities and so wasted time warming up. This not only ate into my drawing time, but it also meant that I had to come up with ideas for a warm up sketch on top of what I already wanted to draw, and the whole process resulted with me feeling exhausted before I'd even begun. Getting into the habit of drawing every day has definitely loosened me up, and because of this ideas have been coming much more freely as I can just jump straight in with whatever I want to do. I didn't end up using too many of the Inktober prompts as they were only there for days I got stuck, and I didn't end up having many of those because the more I was drawing, the more ideas I was having, and because my work was looser I was able to crack out more ideas than I ever felt possible.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYt9HmwD26PXH9pwZc0j8FgG43iFvnxNoke9QHyendpl131V-CN4jGupyTFv1AF4dptKPEibukrjARCo5f3nlXXR_9cBc-nOWIvSKqcVWhdnDLHq4BHKnfFGWf4pM3d-q_WsLbJiDXMu8h/s1600/IMG_1931.png" /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMSysDtIbXcNHcN47IDM-JBM14HxxkGJH4xo0DXz0jSA7jH5EobhN89mjaw0NJ8mpUmuqOI7M3MTJQ7f8Z1n0AnrDw_Hb6uJZNaC0lxCnSuiZuNqwT4L_u5BVR7gpRzs6W3ZC0bDLD87lk/s1600/IMG_1932.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Top: 14 - Inktober prompt 'dragon' | Bottom: 17 + 18 - <i>Joker</i> inspired illustrations</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I did find myself struggling for ideas here and there, but during those times I allowed inspiration to come from life and the things around me instead of going looking for ideas and becoming frustrated. For example, the <i>Joker</i> movie gave me <b>a lot</b> of inspiration this month as I absolutely loved it and wanted to draw fan art. And by allowing myself to draw things that I cared about, I wanted to draw more and more rather than feeling like I was only drawing because I <b>had</b> to. I'm really glad I decided to exclude social media presence from my challenge too, as that allowed me to be completely self-indulgent with what I was creating without any judgement!<br />
<br />
I think the biggest surprise for me throughout this month is just how much work I've managed to create, which I know sounds a little silly as it was obvious from the very beginning that I'd have around 31 pieces of art if I managed to complete it, but saying that versus physically seeing that work in my sketchbook is an entirely different kettle of fish. I've <b>never</b> filled out a sketchbook at this speed, and it's an exhilarating feeling! I'm used to flicking back over my sketchbook and seeing work I've created months ago, not weeks or even days ago! I also like how it's helping me keep track of time. Often months pass by in a flash and I wonder where the time has gone, but I feel October has gone at a much slower pace as every single day I've been taking note of the date and been fully present as a result. And as someone who suffers with severe anxiety, that's been a really nice side effect and helped my mental health a lot!<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0g6wdoV-XjPNmVrxCbFafeV8TJUyv2vay1hyphenhyphenAMfhQaO_k4PZ3x-HSEWh96x2Yni2ZulgNBRjG4Idzv1R5W4Xp31iv2yb-I5QxuDEbaN_X-25ZuK1VYMzuRkeBDjCoY5cHf5QNtvvqQW3/s1600/IMG_1933.png" /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBHiGl4JoRWwyXfFw_-EijXLolZFXQ9aujiO74cCMyJx56YqMKEf2CoLhUBxDP74eGQAywHLF4XgHkp6pYINv0oblUCwpkdm5EaqIaeuntTbAZs-M13ZFjjFjRjkatvMLq8n1q3Xd9ubM/s1600/IMG_1929.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Top: 20 - reference of vintage ballet dancers from Pinterest. 21 - Inktober prompt 'treasure'</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;">Bottom: 24 - Illustration inspired by Joker</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Parts of Inktober have definitely been a little stressful at times, but it was entirely self-inflicted. Part of the draw of the challenge for me was to fill up a good chunk of my sketchbook quickly, and that was actually a good drive as I was actively measuring my progress by how much I'd completed. But it also meant that I was getting a bit stressed when I had to miss days as I wasn't filling my sketchbook fast enough, and the pressure I put on myself to draw <b>every</b> day meant that other hobbies and interests had to be put aside.<br />
<br />
I really want to continue drawing after October. Not every day, but I've shown myself what I can do and I don't want to lose these good habits that I've built. I'm a little nervous I'll run out of ideas, but I'd rather cross that bridge if and when I come to it! Plus I have a whole heap of things I want to digitally colour and turn into proper illustrations from all of this, so there's always that too!<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtM2FDF51mFj5pjVvlIoQNPRVvmASkPX1-3zLWjUKfFtdE-D7fityRNyK01onGnM8PuJx9aVZks3PwUVo5fFL03N9v7qZ5R7p2GkMGHQ2nUIkxpYbx5omke_YDwRBwhfNwSScQH59Etr2a/s1600/IMG_1928.png" /><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAC0dmlMl4fOrq8KZotDNLx_gOQ9ldmSi4rFsBfASklR6u7PjQB_RivCGr9FRdWKSchoj-bwaovxBj-qjaajYybcLtcSNNlZD-jD47vLVPguzdaC4T8ZKM38y1Lkgv-tQVbWeoRuBbxOb/s1600/IMG_1927.png" /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9F3IuUnIK4v-MAtfy1TyqNq44UMBwpLedWDpcR9fqJVMevc5E7nwjw9eYINrx8hkKVK7ky2BHxK75Du3TJN2_vi8vQ3iraUuP6TIhDSVP7lTz6nIqjQnpoCMvR4kJT7UDx4e6aVYPcfV_/s1600/IMG_1926.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Top: 25 - An OC. 26 - Fiyero inspired (I drew a lot of scarecrows, I guess I was inspired by autumn ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) </span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;">Middle: 27 - Autumn inspired motifs, and practising Cyrillic </span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;">Bottom: 27 + 28 - Joker inspired illustrations. I said there was a lot!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-38250096705148585922019-09-30T21:48:00.000+01:002019-10-30T00:07:31.715+00:00#Harvest Tales + New Shop ItemsThere hasn't been much activity from me on the art front lately as August was mostly spent planning, preparing for and then travelling to New York, followed by being terribly ill for a full month after I got back! So I haven't really felt much like drawing and have been trying to ease myself back into the habit while I got better, especially as I plan on doing Inktober this year for the first time ever. <br />
<br />
Inktober's not something I've ever taken part in before as I'm usually put off by how competitive and commercialised it's gotten, I'm really not interested in any of that side of it and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. In fact October is probably my least favourite time to be an artist on social media as I'm so bored with the whole concept after three days of it filling up my entire feed! But I happened upon the prompt list and for once I actually felt quite inspired by it, and as I've had such a dry spell it feels like a good way to improve my practise and build good habits. And when I think of it like that, I'm really excited for it! <br />
<br />
I don't plan on sharing all of my illustrations throughout the month as I think it can be toxic to share everything and I think that's why so many turn it into a competition, whether intentionally or not. My biggest learning curve this past year has been that not everything I create has to be up for public consumption, and it's much more liberating to create things for my own eyes only. When you don't have that pressure of needing to share, you're more inclined to take risks and experiment, which is exactly the point of the Inktober challenge to me, not to pre-prepare 31 perfect illustrations in advance which I see no artistic merit to. <br />
<br />
Throughout September there's been an art tag on Instagram called #HarvestTales which felt right up my alley, and as it only required one artwork per week it felt like a perfect way to ease myself into designing illustrations around prompt words. I tried to keep it themed by having a central character of a Scarecrow (who may or may not look familiar from my Fiyero drawings...), which I liked as having that allowed me to think of the prompts within that character, and I hoped it might feel a bit more narrative driven than by simply having four separate illustrations. One of my favourite works I've created so far is <a href="https://asootsprite.blogspot.com/2018/11/folktale-week.html">my Folktale Week sketchbook</a> from last November, and I think a big part of why it works for me is because it has so much cohesion. I didn't want to turn this into as huge a project as that was though, as that wouldn't be easing myself into things at all! <br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXFCDPp4rYz_Fodii4YQ8fDVuqbGhOPY_PfTo7dzdn3jn44fOhZ46hCoHUteBaayac72qUQBq9SN8tFMXD-XeYcvEAzsS_o25aSduP1ooRshXXXnKHV1iReB0rdl1nxGstv72xutQIIZa/s1600/harvest1.png" /><br />
This was my first illustration, with the prompt "flowers and herbs". To be honest I don't love it. I was determined to work traditionally as I didn't want it to be as polished as digital, and also as my previous Folktale Week artworks had been traditional and I used the same methods. But honestly I don't like how this illustration came out that much!! I don't know if I've over shaded it or tried to be too detailed, but it feels like I've taken 10 steps back in my style into territory I've tried to get away from. This year I've really worked on simplifying my work away from the realistic perfectionist mindset I was trapped in before and I really love where it's taken me, but this just isn't it. I still like the idea of the sunflowers comforting the sad Scarecrow (I was inspired by the Pink Floyd song <i>Scarecrow</i>, especially the line "The black and green scarecrow is sadder than me, But now he's resigned to his fate" which I've always related to Fiyero's story arc) and the general idea, just not the execution in this case. Even the colours just don't feel right.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmXlzwNYvHx4BO1lNusDkDAyodsmOPcYjoUYOep2m5teeyBWMbeSTZjVLR-jNafKBO97SITw7tEpnddxkSMMgQSSIZrhrc9xCPp3oq7EsjdbroYfDqqe9-PURQdRfmtvs7dRa060HK7gW/s1600/harvest2.png"/><br />
I actually skipped week 2 which had the prompt word "Scarecrow", partly as I was really ill that week, partly because I was feeling kind of disheartened from the previous week, so technically this illustration is week 3 which had the prompt "night creature". I wanted to really take advantage of the challenge being called <b>harvest</b> tales, whilst also making it slightly spooky as I felt the prompts were leaning in that direction (and honestly "spooky harvest" sums up my whole aesthetic!). I stripped the style right back to absolute simplicity, and was inspired by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-JD8Hb-q8M">a video by DrawingWiffWaffles</a> where she'd drawn with a coloured ballpoint pen and coloured it with pastel Copic markers to create a monotone effect. And it proved to be just the inspiration I needed as I love how this turned out, and used the same method for the final illustration but knocked it up a gear.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicw93LQN5drqT176OycovHYHtjJgIyAJ0HtR88m5TSXIUZta4XkEVJ0Nd4eV30c9f8uCNeQUxmrOe7ShAv3aa-95-G9f12iWdNiHRyr7bURsNR4WoJibm-ej3AwQpEynySAiD87XgrYRk3/s1600/harvest3.png" /><br />
The prompt was "spirits", and I added a little white gel pen and yellow colouring pencil. It's definitely my favourite of the lot! I'm even thinking of only using ballpoint pen for the whole of Inktober as it's ink, and I've really fallen in love with the versatility and simplicity of it. Who needs overly expensive Inktober targeted art supplies when you can just use a 50p biro!<br />
<br />
<center><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhsguqfk6z87_miymrtmZg-zcykJrEsIx-AbHu9yFdKirUQqHQGQcqT_LI0ak-qxEZJxrDbKZaAXBt-Ep3qnEsiR1Ltj75W5DLsi5TWH2JT24iofkvvRrWKMprShg51kfQnfAOxarn0WT/s1600/div.png" /></center><br />
I've also had an exciting shipment of products I ordered! I've wanted to create charms for a while, and my <i>Wicked</i> illustrations felt like they'd lend themselves perfectly. They're 6cm tall acrylic charms with holographic effect on one side (so as not to obscure the illustration too much, but still keeping it sparkly!) I'm delighted with how they've turned out! There's 5 designs in total, and I have a limited quantity right now because it's kind of terrifying plunging money into stock when you don't know when you'll earn that money back! So the more I sell, the more I can invest back into my shop with even more exciting products. I hope you like them as much as I do, they're available in <a href="http://asootsprite.etsy.com/">my Etsy store</a> now!<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuEEv5TjoRBXEjEeNDAa799WpNHEtX9ZgCoY-rwZsPKjbBB2nLHd_0L7_4vBRxvDLMcTNzrK2jT3s5b2EXy_NWyQOcaccVyKMCbAbmry36Delp6fAc_V9B-lo6O5tJNAxDCk_582DyON02/s1600/charms-front.gif" /></center><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFN6RaeDmUHjXDYJNLuaCqLlLNb-yDE7ohSPFrB5Ot8xSrwiyeBqpsKIbfw0UIhFn7S3aX-qE7CtFsAbBhH3O0TGhBPk_AyzpRfQ-yv8Zqg1fd-90tmeplC6R43SLcafRPWMpHba18a21/s1600/IMG_1756.png"/><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_0BCMz5jwZOoEyx3Pr-ph4P2hthpFwzkw5KwC5khbey5xspJE7zvhXfB29r7dEjbW-0Yl8ZD7Ob9aBDsC5L7fwr6wchZEi69XJ2QzqCwFlFIRGDDSF5p0QLfyqtnO5DfqBo5KPBNf7qY/s1600/IMG_1744.png" /><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-60319533423935309982019-08-04T21:00:00.001+01:002021-04-06T00:47:33.818+01:00Elphaba + Glinda<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQF6yW3lvC_1EdLUGJ7yl9gtmebWXdnVC6nRdftKFEBA_k6az9-MlMyqcB5P6IGzL5PfbyXWwshf7cbHBqFvBgpdTH6wrDczTmn3HCUQqvg1rY3wd9Of2c-9JwuKdL6vRWIF-3Hp_ppeFQ/s1600/elphaba+glinda+watermarked.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<center><i>"And now whatever way our stories end<br />
I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend"</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/asootsprite/works/40388502-elphaba-glinda?asc=u"><br />
Available on RedBubble here.</a></center><br />
It's rare for me, but this is one illustration I specifically drew to turn into products. Usually I work the other way around and try and figure out how to fit finished pieces into certain items. I'm very excited to get this made into what I have in mind, but in the meantime you can order it on a few bits on RedBubble. I've actually placed an order with RedBubble myself, so I'll be sure to report back with a review of their products soon!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-82683277065020852522019-07-12T10:00:00.001+01:002021-04-06T00:47:47.612+01:00WickedThese are a few <i>Wicked</i> pieces I've been working on that I'd forgotten to update with here, and will bring my blog up to date with my current work. I like to have it all over here as I can better record my thought processes than in a simple Instagram caption.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7crt2wq-98ScSGyv_GSNB2PSMEv2ZYGCtH2UfV6NEFjvG4N1tgfh8tYZcjcEJv3W8IyA1J65QwW8fmhylX9UbExIZYmESK12UT4dioGMrTIzSiSj2VvsJ4vAGsVvVewDj-bkSkLAD0ab/s1600/glinda+blog.png" /><br />
<br />
This is fairly straight forward, a scene from the musical after 'For Good'. I don't really consider it a spoiler as it happens in <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> too! I just think it's incredibly sad that, as far as Glinda is aware her best friend and only true ally is dead and she has to hide and pretend she isn't there whilst it happens. Glinda's story arc is so heartbreaking, and it's sad how she's so often dismissed as just being a ditz. Elphaba and Fiyero may be fugitives, but at least they get to go on and live their own lives together. Whereas Glinda's left thinking everyone she's ever loved is dead, and has to watch everyone celebrating that fact whilst keeping the lie alive.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4z4met96xrv-NBCij949xRqkFzY217UNJetv5e0qKNfvlb9nFxBEpyCWylDfcBChjmOf-ErCz3wvmrbfPmWE8EGcTVyEfqhcyFINy0ZVJ31CuwslTigvXQxaY0NbINMOhBziF6hDvLmvl/s1600/dance+blog.png" /><br />
<br />
This was drawn from <a href="https://wicked1280px.tumblr.com/post/154081147590/2011-gina-beck-glinda-matt-willis-fiyero">a production still</a>. I kind of set the wrong mood for it with them smiling, as they're literally plastering on smiles over their own heartbreaks BUT I drew this whilst watching Eurovision so I think you can understand why I was distracted from the tone. Also quite frankly I drew it as I wanted something cute and pretty of my favourite characters and wasn't trying to draw anything deep. It was my first go at colouring them with my Copic markers too, so that was fun trying to translate my digital palette.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-43336353590436281572019-07-11T10:00:00.002+01:002024-02-26T00:40:06.216+00:00The Snow QueenThis is a bit of a throw back, but I realised when scrolling through my Instagram feed that there's a few pieces I forgot to share over here, so the next few posts will be of older pieces to get caught up.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFy6QYFUVKoONbzr9IR2VGOvp5qAr0pkqMN0ZJW2B85ppC_H6GOAq24vjZgsZ3O3bKCfyoNuURWHkc4FjuBr0nWUaVLINyjCBrAqwxpB2m7-UlrqyOp6NI6bUgLHX3tTprwzQe6scJpwqI/s1600/snowqueen+blog.png" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="1067" /><br />
<br />
For this post I just wanted to share this illustration from back in winter. I have a long personal history with the original story of <i>The Snow Queen</i>, certainly long before <i>Frozen</i> stole my heart. It's always been my favourite fairy tale for no deep reason other than it's a good adventure tale, and I've collected various book editions and film adaptations of it throughout the years. In my foundation degree, to finish the course we had to write our own brief and mine was to illustrate a full 32 page book of <i>The Snow Queen</i>. Which ended up taking me on quite an adventure, as it even involved traveling around the country to see some real life reindeer to study as well as translating and condensing Andersen's original text whilst still keeping the integrity of the original story (as it was a picture book so had to be simplified)<br />
<br />
I still have that book somewhere, and I have a lot of mixed feelings looking at it. I put so much work into it, but obviously my style and ability has drastically improved so it's a little embarrassing in some respects. This piece was drawn straight into my iPad (I usually draw the initial sketch traditionally) and was just revisiting the character of <i>The Snow Queen</i> herself. I didn't put a whole lot of thought into it other than trying to improve upon my original idea, whilst also trying NOT to subconsciously make it resemble Elsa. <br />
<br />
I'd love to finalise some designs some day, perhaps with Gerda and Kai too. Maybe I'll even redo my whole book!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4187481326043273334.post-65699408885953879812019-07-10T21:38:00.000+01:002019-07-10T21:38:48.337+01:00Blue diamonds<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7P9GYKHOFnMMU01CrvdIo7b-ycwCNWyylra8d7WX_wRXrijlNjU2Mv_CJ-gyZ2di1IIaguj8nK_XzVvpuxA0GGKBmg5scQQUOgJbxvfkemfs9VGa0OMP3RCV_DAwQx5I11ACYineoeEgu/s1600/fiyero+blog.jpg"/><br />
<br />
Just a paint doodle that both provided practice with some different Procreate techniques, as well as exploring Fiyero's tattoo designs.<br />
<br />
In the original novel Fiyero's marked with distinctive tattoos/body paint (it's described as both interchangeably so could be either), but other than being "a pattern of diamonds" and "sulfurous" blue and being on his face, chest and hands, there isn't much description as to what it actually looks like. <br />
<br />
These are supposed to be tattoos that mark him to his specific tribe in the Vinkus, rather than tattooing for aesthetic purposes, and are really important to his character as it 'other's him and is one of the things he gets made fun of for. I did some research into body art in various indigenous cultures, including Native American (which I've always imagined to be Fiyero's ethnicity) and First Nations, Polynesian, Māori, and Inuit which was a little help. I couldn't find anything geometric enough to take direct inspiration from, but it certainly helped me consider placement (such as avoiding the chin which in various cultures around the world seems to be a feminine practice). Sometimes it's just really interesting the avenues art can take you down. This isn't finalised or anything, I'm just playing around and seeing what works. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be as it's so easy to make it look crap, I can see now why the musical scrapped it!<br />
<br />
Although most of my Wicked art is based in the world of the musical, I really want to explore scenes from the book more, especially as it was what made me really fall in love with these characters more so than the musical. I want to eventually come to place where the two are kind of blended together seamlessly, which is why I still drew Fiyero in his outfit from the musical.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0