Day 86.5: A Bunny Without Jelly Beans

Instead of working on the bunnies with jelly beans today I did a bunny with his carrot. I'm not sure if it's really an Easter drawing, but it's a bunny with a carrot that means something! I'm not sure what it means, but it's cute. I didn't do a whole lot of detail because I'm tired. I'll go in later and do some details. 

I have the idea for the jelly beans and bunnies. And I have another idea involving some chicks. I'll probably do some Easter Lilies for one drawing and an Easter basket for another. That will cover four days, but there is room left if anyone has ideas for drawings.

Day 55: In Which Evil Computer Smites Me

From now on this old computer of mine will be known as "Evil Computer". On Evil Computer I can create a colourful drawing with several layers and save it quite well. When I go to open a saved colourful drawing with several layers, Evil Computer smites me. He slows down, crashes Photoshop, and refuses to let me open my colourful drawing with several layers!

I will be getting Good Computer shortly. I'm sure Evil Computer will try to thwart my efforts, but Good Computer will prevail.

I'm sorry, Evil Computer ate my fairy, so I only have a seahorse to show. I will show my fairy later. Seahorse was supposed to be in colour, but that is not something Evil Computer would allow. I hope you enjoy my seahorse, and not think me completely mad (though I may well be).

Day 53: The Barn Owl

I've always loved barn owls. Like any owl they seem to have a certain wisdom about them. I love the heart-shaped frames around their faces. They almost look like dolls.

I'm not sure how many more farm animals I'm going to do, because I'm running out of different looking animals. Most of them are birds, and animals that look like horses or cows. Maybe I should try some farm equipment next?

Final Illustrations, Finally!

I've got my first three illustrations done! I'm happy. Of course finals are only finals after they are published, so if you have any ideas how I can improve these do let me know! I was going to wait until tomorrow to finish them, or to post, but I hate waiting. I also hate making other people wait. For all of you people who slept tonight instead of staying up late for me to post, shaaaammmme shammmeee! I think I'm going to go get some sleep now. Enjoy the illustrations!

Day 52: Sheeeeep

I'm getting closer to finishing my farm illustrations. I can't help but to keep it up. It's too fun making these cute animals! Today I drew a sheep. He looks like the best pillow ever! Gigi commented that these drawings would make a good children's book. I didn't really think about that when I was making them. I know that's what this blog is for, but still! Anyway, it doesn't hurt to have lots of extra animal drawings.

Here is the final farm background. Some things may change in this drawing, but it's basically what I came up with. Most of the things are the same from the sketch I did, but I added the window. I was sad looking at the drawing where there would be all these animals that didn't have a window to look out of it. Yes, I'm a big sap sometimes.

Hopefully the animals will love their new barn. At one point I had hoped to have a little spider in or around the barn. It didn't really make much sense, because none of my animals have feet. I don't think I could make a successful spider without feet. Even if I could, I'd be sad that he didn't have feet. Yes, there is something wrong with that last statement, but I stand by it!

I don't know if this format works better for my blog or not. I thought I'd try something new, and if it doesn't work I'll go back to the old way. I'm not sure if I'll finish my farm today, but I'll give it a go. 

Day 50: A Rooster Almost on the Farm

Today I did a rooster. I figured if I didn't include him he'd come to my house and wake me up at the crack of dawn.

I also did the line work and colours for one of my farm pictures. Now to populate it with animals.

Hopefully I'll be able to finish all three of these farm pictures this weekend.

Day 49: A Horse is a Horse and a Post is a Post

Today I braved the crowds and did a little exploring of down town Vancouver with my husband. We didn't have tickets to any of the Olympic events, but we still had a lot of fun. It was really nice to see the Olympic Flame in person (first time ever seeing it in person!). It was beautiful, but seemed much smaller than it looked on TV. There were lots of street performers, and people selling anything from decorative pins to fine art. There was a small outdoor area for ice skating and people six stories off the ground zipping across cables on  Robson Street. We weren't there very long, but it was nice to get caught up in the high spirits and fun of the Olympics. Hrm, there was something else... oh yeah I did a drawing today!

Today's drawing is of a horse. Everyone knows you can't have a farm without a horse!

Here are all my sketches from week 7:

Day 48: A Puppy!

I knew there would have to be a puppy. Everyone knows you can't have a good farm scene without a puppy. I tried to make sure this puppy had a few, very important, features:

1. He had his head up in the air. Every puppy I've known had a habit of throwing his head in the air when he was playing a game.

2. He had to have a long tail. Dogs are cute no matter what, but I love the long tails.

3. He had to have his tongue sticking out. What dog doesn't have his tongue sticking out?

Without further ado:

So, how did I do? I think I struggled with this one the most, because I really wanted this to look good.

I'd love to have a dog myself. Unfortunately, I don't have a big yard or the time to take care of one. Hopefully in the future I'll get one. My husband thinks he prefers cats, but that's just silly.

I've also updated my personal information. I've also signed up on Technorati. Apparently my blog is 27846th. Yay me!

Edit: Oh, I forgot! My husband got his bonus recently so I will soon be getting a new computer! I want to run out right away and buy one. I'll be a good girl and do my research. Weeeeeee doggies!

Day 47: A Family Member and Some Farm Scenes

Ever had a day where you couldn't find anything you need? I have a few days during the month that aren't like that. Today I couldn't find any markers, but I found the pastels I was looking for when I was doing the Humpty Dumpty images (don't worry, no more Dumpty for now... that egg has cracked). I used watercolours instead to colour my Farm images. The final images may be different (No, I didn't get a kid to draw them. These drawings are all me, baby!).

And then there's the family member, Mr. Ducky! There were several people who laughed hysterically when they heard what my married name was going to be. I don't see what's so funny. Duck is a perfectly dignified and classy last name. Quack! ...excuse that.

As you can see I finally have a nice new template. I'm sticking with this layout until I design one of my own. No takebacks! I like the fact that it's raw and a bit messy. Reminds me maybe too much of myself.

If this is your first time visiting my blog, welcome to you. You may not want to read some of my old posts, because I've just now gotten warmed up (after only 40 odd days). If you have been here before, then keep checking back because there will be lots more stuff soon! Please stick with me, because things are just going to get better from here. 

A Sleeping Cat

So I did get my kitty done today. I've been meaning to draw a kitty for a while now, so I'm glad I got him all done.

Day 45: A Cow

Today's drawing is a cow. He was supposed to be a kitten, but there you go. Sometimes things don't end up like they're planned.

Maybe more stuff later tonight. We'll see how my plans end up.

Day 44.5: The Pig and a Flower

So I did a pig and a flower. I'm going to be using all these images in the illustrations that I will be working on in the near future. I've decided to do three drawings with a farm theme. I've got solid ideas for the first two, but I haven't decided what I'm doing for the third, so I'll be posting that tomorrow once I get it figured out.

I think this style is really well for me right now, because my computer can't handle a lot of information right now. I don't like the idea of skimping on things or making a file too small just to work on it on my computer. My husband should be getting a bonus next month, hopefully it's lots and lots so I can get a new computer.

Day 42: A Mousey

And today brings a mousey! Hrm maybe he needs a tail?

Day 41: A Couple of Cute Chicks

I decided to do more drawings along the same line as the bunny I did. Here's the result:

I'd say more, but I have to go have some supper.

Day 39: The Final Dumpty (and a Bunny)

I decided to go back and try to colour Mr. Dumpty one last time. I like this the best out of the other ones I worked on. I do like working in traditional mediums, but I kept trying to hit the undo button when I did something wrong. The real life undo button needs some work. Here is what I came up with:

Here is all the images put together so you can compare them:

And last but not least is a bunny that I worked on today. 

He's a lot different than what I usually work on. I might try some more drawings like this in the future.

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 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 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 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.