Catching up: Character Art & Sketchbook Musings

I finished that mercenary digital painting back in early May. I’ve also been sketching more in my portable sketchbook and picked a few highlights to post.

Since my post last spring, I’ve been waiting to post more until I’d figured out a more cohesive plan for how I want to make art, but that is just a laughable goal at this point. I’m far, far too an inuitive person to have a “cohesive” plan. A plan, sure. A plan that goes mostly out the window when the rubber hits the road. The more I wait to think up the perfect plan or perfect order in which to learn and practice art, the more my blog collects cyberdust.

Anyway, enough rambling, on to the art!

It’s close to the WIP I’d posted last time, but with more finished rendering on the arms and some slight color adjustments. I’d hoped the background would turn out a bit differently; more detailed I guess? I’m still getting a handle on color + depth + detail in a background.

It also suffered a bit from being slightly…phoned in after the fact. I’d originally planned to just digitally ink the character art and leave the background a single color gradient.

I suppose a too-detailed style of background would have clashed with the stylized character, so overall I’m happy with how the painting turned out.

On an unrelated to character art note, but related to my dusty blog note: my last post here back in May (*sigh*) ended on such a note of excitement for Game of Thrones season 8 that I ended up going back with some “edit to add” commentary, but suffice to say, I was pretty disappointed.

At least in my supreme annoyance at GoT’s turn of plot, I’ve been on a fantasy book reading kick. There are so many great books out there with well written women leaders in a fantasy setting.  Anything by Robin McKinley, Lois McMaster Bujold, or Patricia A. McKillip, I can strongly recommend.

I recently finished: the Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy (loved it, as I have anything by McKillip. It switches to a female protagonist’s POV in book two), The Sharing Knife 1 & 2, and The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, and the Hallowed Hunt (which I loved!) :3 I also recently re-read of a bunch of McKinley books: Beauty, Chalice, Rose Daughter, The Blue Sword, and the Hero and the Crown. Currently, I’m reading the Kindle version of The Invisible Library #1, which I am thoroughly enjoying, though only on page 40 or so.

Reading more fantasy books has been making me itch to create more art, but I keep procrastinating on character art and portfolio pieces, unfortunately. I’m not sure why – I feel like I have to be good enough to share online, which is silly because I’ve already committed myself to showing the mess behind the wizard’s curtain. If in, er, fits and starts, admittedly.

On a positive art-making note: carrying my little brown sketchbook in my purse has been great to add quick studies too while waiting at the bus stop, in line to check out, waiting for take-out, etc.  Times where I used to reach for my phone, I now try to reach for my sketchbook instead. I’m happy that I’m working more in pen and trying really hard to relax into drawing. Not an easy task, nor one I usually succeed at, but still – a little sketchbook full of drawings is better than a blank page, to me.

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Now to prepare for the work week to begin after having a three-day weekend.

*skips off*