Day 31 Already?

I'm not sure what happened, but I've completely lost track of time. I have been sick lately, but I just realized that I haven't posted sketches for 2 weeks now. I have been working on drawings, though and wanted to share:

From this point on my sketches will be slightly different, and hopefully posted more often.

Day 30.5: The Bear

I was hoping to finish this much earlier. It's not really finished finished, but maybe as close as it's going to get:

Hope he's cute enough for you!

Day 29: I'm Still Alive!

So I'm still alive. I don't know where the days go anymore. I'm still in the process of changing jobs, so it's difficult to get things done during the week. I'm going to play catch-up again this weekend, and also make up a game plan for the future. Hang in there, I know I still am!

Day 25: A First Look - Tobias

I had decided to do a sketch of my cat Tobias back when she was just a kitten. I'm at work and I never know how much time I'll have to work on these things. I started working on it and thought, "Hey, this will make a cute painting when I'm done". So I'll work on this whenever I can at work. Without further Ado the beginning sketches:

And a detail of the face:

I wish I had time to work on all my drawings at work. The Photoshop there is much more recent than mine at home. Ah well, if I stay I'd end up doing more work and less art.

I didn't get the chance to finish my bug illustration, because my computer is threatening to die on me again. I swear it starts out perfect, but after a while it gets gummed up. Even purging the histories doesn't seem to help. Ah well, I'll keep trying. If worse comes to worse I'll have all the initial drawing done, and have to go back later and finish the inking/colouring later. I really hope I can talk my husband into getting another computer. (Maxed out credit card go go go.)

Day 23: A Shoe is a Shoe

My great achievement for today is creating a shoe! More stuff to come later.

Day 21: I Have Been -- Now I'm Going

Here are a few illustrations I've done in the past. All but the last two were done in traditional media. My work now is most often done on the computer.

This first one isn't really an illustration per say, but I really like how it turned out. It's also the oldest image here. I can't repeat the process without a pressure washer, so it will be a little while before I do another one like it.

This second one I like mostly just because of the work I put into the actual figure and her "clothing"

This one and the next are a bit lighter than they appear here. I think I may re-colour them in Photoshop.

This one I did for a contest at DaniDraws.com. It was used to show my process. I didn't get a prize but I got a nice mention on her web page: http://danidraws.com/2008/07/31/art-and-learning-contest-winners/  I may re-colour this in Photoshop.

This one is just kinda pretty. I had a lot of fun creating it, and it really didn't take that long.

This is the most recent off all the illustrations posted here. The .jpg makes it look splotchy (if you have any ideas for converting .tifs to .jpgs I'd be happy to hear them). This took me a really long time to do. I learned a lot from it, and if I were to do it again it would take me less time, though it would still take me quite a bit of time.

That's all I have to show for now. I just realized that I had something else, but I left it on the computer at work. If I can get the .jpg to look right I'll post it here later. Feel free to leave comments about any of these.

Day 20.5: A Little Bit of Colour

So Photoshop has decided not to be completely useless for me (my computer's fault not Photoshop's). Anyways, I've done a base colour on it:

The plan for this illustration: Her dress and skin needs to be a little lighter. Maybe change the colour of the window and door. The flowers will be a different colour, but I'm not sure which colour yet. If I finish tomorrow I'll post the final.

Tomorrow: I'll be posting some of my older work. Some of them I may re-do in Photoshop.

Day 19: And Now For A Short Break

Today I'm taking a bit of a break. I have just sent off a few resumes for creative jobs, and I'm hoping to hear back from them soon. Hrm, come to think of it I may have sent a teaching resume to a furniture sales job... I probably wont be getting that job. *insert smilie beating itself senseless here*

Anyways, I need to gather my thoughts and my artwork for my portfolio. I'm not feeling really strong about my current portfolio, so I'm hoping that I have enough to get the job I want.

Since I don't have any pretty drawings to share with you I will link you to a few web sites that I love:

http://www.conceptart.org/ - Excellent resource for the Digital Artist. A strong community to help people succeed in their chosen professional field. Strong focus on Character/Environment design.
http://danidraws.com/blog/ - Another Excellent resource, but for the Illustrator. Focuses on Digital Illustration.

I just found these two:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/04/16/40-cartoon-character-illustration-tutorials/ Tutorials, tutorials and more tutorials!
http://www.cartoonsolutions.com/ Lots of fun!

My previous illustration teacher:
http://www.author-illustr-source.com/dominiccatalano.htm - My Illustration teacher's web sight. He has been quite an inspiration to me so I had to include him on this list.

Day 18.5 Catching up

Here is the Lady Bug Illustration that I just finished inking. I want to post the Spider & Fly illustration, but I'm having trouble opening it.

Annnd really late are my sketches. It wasn't so much that I didn't have them done as it was that I didn't have them all in the computer.

On the upper right you'll see a bird. I am now running out of my drawing paper so he got stuck being drawn over an old drawing. And in the bottom right... I'm not sure what the penguin is going to do with my futon, but I guess some things are better left unexplored. I still have a ways to go to be caught up completely, but I'm getting there!

Day 17: Photoshop Fails

I'm only on day 17 and Photoshop is completely failing me. I'm having issues even opening my artwork, let alone working on anything I've started. It took about five minutes just to open a black and white drawing, trying to open a colour image is just taking to long.

New plan for now: Ink all of my drawings in photoshop for now, and save the colouring for later. I'm really hoping we get a new computer now!

Anyways, here is what I've worked on so far today:

I plan on inking it later today, and then moving on to other projects. For now the all important laundry shall be cleaned!

Day 15: The Confession

For the last few days I've been falling behind with my artwork. I think I'm at the point where I need to find another job. It's not that I don't enjoy working at the family business, but it's not enough to pay the bills. Along with my artwork I'm going to be hitting Craigslist and working on a few cover letters. It doesn't help that I'm behind schedule with my art plans.


I was really distraught when I didn't finish my illustration last night. I had most of the line art done, but I was having trouble with the colouring. I've also had a really hard time finishing things since I left college (honestly had trouble in college a bit too). I don't want to get into the habit of not drawing again, and I refuse to get any farther behind. So here's my plan: I can only do so much job hunting this weekend, so I'm going to work hard to get caught up. I will keep you up to date. 


I hereby apologize to the blog an the blog readers for any appointment I may have caused. 


I promise to try my damnedest to finish my illustration so that it looks at least one kind of awesome.
I promise to work on sketching to show in hopes that one person will say "that's neat"
I promise to not beat myself up about this to the point that I give up on my blog and the subsequential purpose of said blog
I promise to be more interesting in my blog posts, so people don't fall asleep while reading said blog.


Sincerely and With the Hope of Good Times, 


Dani Duck

Day 13ish: The Egyptian Stork

It just seems like it's been a crazy week this week. Honestly, every week is crazy for me, but I want to see this through despite the crazy. I didn't get a lot of time to work today so I'll show a drawing that I did get to a reasonable stage:

I'm getting a little worried right now because my computer is an ancient being. I bought it back in 2003. It's still chugging along. I'm glad I went for some extra features then, because now I can just barely get by. My computer is really important for what I'm doing, so it really stinks when I have to spend a whole day just getting it to run right. We may get another computer soon depending how my husband's bonus looks. I'm going to go cross my fingers and look for 4-leaf clovers.

Day 12: Line Art

I'm working on catching up right now. I've been doing sketches but not showing them online. I'll try to get a couple up in the next couple of days. My biggest problem is I started a little late on this illustration, so I'm a little behind. Thursday will be my day to get all caught up! Anyways I'm planning on changing this, but this is what I have so far:

Next up is editing the line work and then the background. Whew, got this in before midnight, ha!

Edit: Oh yeah, he doesn't have wings... I haven't decided how to do them quite yet.

Day 10: A Spider, a Cat and a Baby (or Bad Movie Titles 101)

I really hate spiders, so I'm not really sure why I decided on a spider for this drawing. I think I have a hidden self-loathing, because the reference photos I used freaked me out. Actually drawing the spider didn't bother me as much (I figure I can burn the drawing later). So here she is:

A drawing of my Pember. She passed away a few years ago. Today she's here to haunt people in this drawing:

Here is the baby I started yesterday. I'll probably finish the drawing by colouring it at a later date.

I'm pretty much a zombie now. I'm heading to bed before I eat someone's brains.

Day 9.5: A Quick Sketch

I'm not quite happy with this drawing. It's the one I'll be using for my bi-weekly illustration
The fly is a bit too big and could be a bit more squat. I'd like to create more of a
background for this, and change the positions of the characters. Also more detail overall
would be nice.

I did do a sketch of a baby today. I was planning to put it into illustrator, and ink and colour it.
I just ran out of time for today, so I shall have to work on it tomorrow. Que Sera, Sera.

Day 8: End of Week 1 + 1 Day

I haven't been able to get to the computer over the last few days, but I thought now would be a good time to give a summary of what's going on for me right now.
Here are my last two drawings:

The latter is really a part of week 2. The former I plan on finishing in colour sometime in the future. Here is a collection of all the sketches I did from this past week:

I will be posting some skeches tomorrow for the bi-weekly illustration I'm working on. I'm going to switch up my sketches so they reflect my illustration style rather than just sketches from things around me. I'll be using more photos for references, and my drawings will be more like my illustrations. I think I'll be working against myself if I don't make this change now. I have a lot of things to think about, so I'm going to call it a night.

Day 5: A Litte Bit of Colour

I wanted to try a little colour in today's sketch. I chose both the right and wrong time to do it. I was all set up, ready to go around 2:30pm, but I had all these silly little distractions. They were stupid little things, really. I needed to set up an appointment for the vet, because Toby (my cat) keeps limping on and off. I couldn't find my tubes of watercolour, so I had to use the colours dried on my pallet (So much for yellow!).  In a blink of an eye I realized that it was getting late and I was losing my light source (It was 4..ish? when I finally started, which actually was better than last night!). I started out light when it was still bright out, and started using darker, more saturated colours as I moved on. I stopped when my cat decided I had spent enough time in front of the window, so I had to get out of her way, or let her drink my paint water. I'm far from mastering water colours but I had fun!  Here's the result:

I've always found working with watercolours much like owning a cat. You can't really train them to do what you want: they do what They want, and You have to conform to their needs. If you tell them what to do, they'll tell you in their own way to get bent, and go right ahead and do whatever it was they had planned to do in the first place -- as if you never existed. Even if you think you've figured them out they will come back and surprise you... sometimes in very unpleasant ways.

Day 4: The Accidental on Purpose Self Portrait

I decided to do a Self-Portrait today because I couldn't think of anything else to draw that didn't make want to gag. I've always preferred to draw organic things. Still life drawings always kill me, so does drawing anything with strait lines. I know, I know, I'll have to force myself to draw these things to be a great artist. I think I'll try it tomorrow, or the next day... perhaps the day after that...

It's not a particularly wonderful drawing, but I had fun playing with the textures. If I did it again I could do better, but I'll wait awhile before trying it again. For now I'm off to make supper. Also I need to do something about my cat... she wont quit whining.

Day 3: Things are Already Going Wrong

On my third day things are already going awry! I decided to draw a glass, and the glass refused to be drawn. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I spent an ample amount of time on it, so I'm letting it go. This glass will have to be drawn on a different day, after it's decided not to be so difficult.

Day 2: Don't Laugh at Me (Unless I'm Funny)

So it's day two and I'm finding out how out of practice I really am. Sure, I've done the occasional drawing and started a few paintings, but I haven't been serious about art since... forever. It use to be a lot easier for me, this drawing thing. My faces actually looked like faces and not... well various other parts of the human anatomy.  I did find that it's easier sketching a sleeping cat than a sleeping husband.

I think I should clarify something about my Illustrations. The Illustrations I plan to do will be for children's books and magazines. Maybe I'm trying to recapture some part of my youth, maybe I want to be lazy and not draw to my potential, or maybe I think that children's illustration can be one of the highest forms of art. In any case: If you think children's illustration is inferior to other forms of art, then this is the wrong blog for you.

I don't mind posting every sketch I do, but I'm not sure if this website will take all the artistic wonder I will be bestowing upon it. Every week or so I'll be posting my sketches in a single image, so this blog doesn't become too cluttered. I will be working the better sketches into my blog, also I will be including drafts of my drawings as they progress. I have an idea, so I'm hoping to get some sketches ready to share.

Day 1: How to Make a Sleeping Man Lie Still.

So my first sketch is a rather unsuccessful sketch of my husband sleeping on the couch. Some days I can catch him sleeping still for hours and others he's worse than a little kid. It would make it easier if he were awake, but then, really, what could I complain about? Let this be a lesson to all you children out there: Don't work 3rd shift. If you do: Don't work it as a manager...of anything. Or else your wives will be drawing terrible drawings of you sleeping on the couch.

I'm hoping to change the overall look of this blog over the next week. The colours are alright, but they are certainly not me. In case you are wondering I'm an American living in Canada, therefore I will be most likely using both the British and American spellings of everything (what fun!). I should probably note that I would have done the same either way, but this way I hold the illusion of it being someone else's fault rather than my own.

Anyways before I blog your ear off, I shall say adieu. I lift my wheat germ scone and my glass of juice and say, here's to a promising 2010.

The Resolution

At the risk of being one of the millions who make a New Years resolution and don't follow through with it, I'm here creating a blog about my life as an artist. I am 31 years old. Married to a wonderful man named Peter. I have a BFA in Drawing. I am currently working as a Graphic Artist at a family owned printing company.

The Bottom Line: I'm bored with my current life. I need to make serious changes so I can not only become an artist, but also be happy with where I am with my life.

The Goal:
In the following 365 days I will be creating my portfolio to be published on the web. 


The Rules:


1. Every single day I will draw (or paint) at least one sketch from life in my sketch book.
2. I will write (non boring) blog updates on a regular basis - writing at least 5 blogs a week.
3. I will create 26 illustrations (one every two weeks) that may be used in my portfolio.
4. I will design one working web page to host my final portfolio of at least 15 illustrations.
5. I will add artwork to my blog to prove that I'm making the progress I claim.


More rules may be added later, but none will be removed. There will be no excuses for not finishing these goals.*


*Acts of God may slow down the process, but I believe the disbelief in such a being will greatly increase my chances of avoiding such problems.  Family deaths will be greatly dissuaded. Kidnapping, mugging, and other violent crimes are just silly. In case of death please disregard this blog, as it no longer applies... unless I can find a way to come back from the dead, but then the point is just mute.