Final piece.

All that research finally did some good and I came up with this as my final piece of the year. Upon reflection I might have changed the background to something less distracting such as her sitting on a rock on the surface with clouds and waves in the background. Overall i'm pleased with how it turned out and it has improved my digital painting skills considerably, especially the face and hair.


Here's a close-up

ARTIST FEATURE- Io Zarate

Io Zárate is a newcastle based artist and I only became aware of her work about a year ago. Her inspiration lies in surrealism and Japanese culture and she often uses characters from various media in her work. Her vivid pictures depict a playfulness and her pictures are packed with colour.

I really love the texture of the skin here

Io's use of lighting is really effective and I especially like the colorful highlights on her legs.

I'm inspired to be like Io because her work is a unique take on manga and she has promoted herself well through her exhibitions in the UK as well as the USA. In order to gain notoriety I need to put myself out there and begin to make connections with other artists as well as galleries so that my work becomes more well known.

Evaluation of my First Year

Evaluation of my year-

Evaluation of my year-

On September 16th 2013, I was surprised to find on my very first day that I was to be presented with my very first module guide. I found this both exciting and terrifying since I had never had any experience with animation before, but that was one of the reasons I chose this course- to learn how to do something I was passionate about.

My first module required me to do some research into the history of animation, looking at examples of early animation techniques like the Phenakistoscope, Zoetrope and how entrepreneurs like Eadweard Muybridge set the wheels in motion of animation as we know it with his running horse sequential photographs.

As well as research I was required to make my first animation in the form of a loop so that it would play over and over, repeating the action. I was pleased with how it came out and if I compare myself now to what I knew about animation 7 months ago, I am astounded by how much I have learned in just over half a year.

Since then, I have tried my hand at programmes I never thought I would use (in my first year at least) for example, I have made an animatic in after effects, learned how to use Photoshop to create animations as well as enhancing my digital skills. I have even made and rigged a 3D character! Although there were some flaws in it, I am glad that I got the chance to use advanced software like Cinema 4D and will continue to use it to suit my needs. 

Overall the success of my first year is reflected through my marks which have been consistently decent throughout the year and while my drawing skills may be well developed I know I have a lot to learn about the technical side of things since it takes me a long time to get used to a new piece of software.

I have found my first year to be a mixture of easy and difficult tasks, the easy parts of my modules are usually coming up with ideas, sketches, research materials and creating an animation or illustration. However, the more difficult aspects are as I mentioned, new software but also having to independently manage my work flow and be able to develop good time management skills. Whilst they are not perfect at the moment I have realised how important they are to the success of a module and so I will do my absolute best in my following years so be more organised, plan my work through the use of timetables and of course, not leave large portions of work to the last few weeks before handing in.

As for future projects, it is my intention over the summer to become more familiar with human and animal anatomy as it is fundamental knowledge to have when it comes to being a good artist so that your work is accurate if you would like to try your hand at realism, but also it forms the basis for interpretation for character design. I only have to use my last project as an example for this since I looked as both human and fish anatomy in order to make my illustration work the way I wanted it to.

Furthermore, I intend to familiarise myself with programs such as illustrator and cinema 4D because I have come to the conclusion that I might want to peruse a more illustrative side my course. Illustrator obviously would be the best tool to have for my projects to come but I have also seen some lovely illustrative work done in Cinema 4D so to get to know both would be very beneficial. 

In terms of my strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, I think that my strengths lie mostly in my drawing ability and that has been a recurring one of my stated strengths in other modules since I find it is the easiest part of any module or project. My passion for what I am actually working on makes me want to create something to the best of my abilities which also helps with my motivation to work hard.

I would say that my weaknesses are my hesitation to branch out and try something new, take risks and think outside the box. I very much tend to stick to what I know and stay in my comfort zone. I am aware that if I continue this it will not allow growth and improvement since you need to learn from your mistakes to do better next time around. So, next year I might try not to be such a perfectionist and also use a process or medium that I am totally unfamiliar with such as Stop Motion or working with materials rather than being a purely digital artist. 

Mermaid making of guide

Making of Guide

After doing my research for this project, I sketched out various poses that I thought would bring out the features of the mermaid most. 

I decided that diving poses which I had originally looked at wouldn't work because the mermaids arms would obscure her face as well as an entire side of her body. The pose that I finally settled on was a sitting pose that would also allow me to show off her tail. 

I then took a picture of my final sketch and loaded it into photoshop to begin painting.

I began to draw an outline of a ribcage, spine and pelvis using a small hard brush at it's full opacity and altered it's size and width so it would fit nicely inside the exaggerated shape of the mermaids torso.

Once sketched out, I filled in the skeleton with a dark beige colour then used a soft round brush with low opacity to begin colouring up the bones and add depth to them. 

I used lighter and lighter shades of beige until I reached white to create highlights on the ribs and I was satisfied with how they looked.

I struggled with painting the body because I wanted it to look as if the mermaid had adapted to her environment so that ruled out vibrant colours like pink, orange and red.

I decided to brush strokes of colour over the tail and body using varying shades of blue, green, purple and silver and by doing this I could create a foundation for the skin and use a more textured brush on a different layer to add detail. From there I could lower the layers opacity so that the colours would be seen underneath with the texture still visible. 

For the skins texture I used a very small hard marker with 80% opacity to create little dots all over. The idea behind this was to build up the appearance of scales and once the dodge tool was swept across, it looked like they were shimmering so I was pleased with the effect.

As shown here I created each little dot individually and while it was time consuming, I feel it paid off and I was happy with the basic look of the tail. Looking back It might have been easier to use some kind of dry brush or bristle brush to create multiple dots but I had a lot more control over the intensity of the dots with the method I used due to the pressure sensor on my tablet.

Once the tail basics were complete, I placed a layer beneath the scales and began to work with her human skin. I realised early on in my project that a normal human skin tone wouldn't look right as my initial intention was to make her look more like a fish than a woman; So I used the eyedropper tool to pick up some of the colours from her tail and began to use them to paint her body, paying attention to light sources, shading and anatomy.

For the background, I used varying shades of blue and swept the brush over the canvas using varying pressure to add depth.

The coral reef in the background was created by creating patches of colour with my brush and I used a fish shaped brush to add in the shoals in the distance. I was planning on including a shark silhouette too but this would have distracted from the focus of the picture which is the mermaid.

I then added the rock she it sitting on by using the same brushes in greens, greys and browns.

I find it quite easy to draw and paint hair, but here I wanted to go for a semi-realistic look and so in previous pictures you will notice that I used a light green colour to block in the shape of the hair whilst using a darker green to show a little more detail about the way it would lie. Using a very small hard round brush with full opacity, I began to draw in lots of different strands of hair individually in order to build up as much detail as possible. Once the hairs were in place in a certain section, I would then use a soft round brush with low opacity and brush it over the top of the strands. This was not necessarily to blend them together but to lessen the appearance of some of the hairs and bring out the highlights in some of the lighter colour strands which I think gives a much more realistic effect.

I continued to use this method to colour the rest of the hair. In these two pictures I have yet to use the soft round brush on the strands but since I added a greater diversity of coloured hair I hoped the highlights would be brought out even more than on the top part of the hair.

For the fins I used a separate layer and drew 5 guidelines to follow so I could keep the flow of the fin consistent. 

Then, I used a hard marker with the opacity at 40% and coloured the entire fin grey to form the base. I then used the eyedropper tool to take colours from the tail like purple and blue to create the same flowing lines until I ended up with what is shown in the picture.

Since I wanted the fins to be transparent, I took the eraser tool with it's opacity adjusted to 30% and gradually brushed it over the area in between the rays of the fin.

I then used the rectangular marquee tool to draw a box around the fin and pressed cmd+T to select free transform. This way I could drag the fin onto the area I wanted to place it whilst adjusting it's size accordingly.

For the other fin, I decided it would be easier than making another fin to copy the first one I created then use the free transform tool once again to flip it in the opposite direction and place it on the other side of the tail.

The shape of the fin wasn't pleasing to look at, so I selected the area, went to the menu and used the filter option to select the distort tool. Here I could use the shear technique to alter the shape of the fin.

Now the final result looks as if the fin is spilling over the rock the mermaid is sitting on.

For the face, I drew a basic eye shape and used a soft round pressure brush alongside a hard round brush to create and thicken the eyelashes. On the layer beneath the eyelashes, I used the same soft brush to shade her eyelids as well as create the irises and sclera which I decided to colour black instead of white to give an inhuman, creepy fish-eye effect.

I then drew a basic outline of a nose and mouth. Originally I had used a typical manga style nose but thought this didn't look right or fit with the semi-realism approach I was wanting to peruse. As a result I drew the nose wider and this gave me the opportunity to shade and add highlights in a different way than I normally would. This simple adaptation may well have changed the way I draw noses digitally forever!

For the skin and lips, I used a combination of a soft round brush and a hard marker to make them look as 3D as possible, paying attention to shading and to where the light would hit the higher parts of the face such as her nose, lips, cheekbones and the tops of her eyelids.  

I then used a hard round brush with 70% opacity to draw her eyebrows as well as draw small silver lines under her eyes and on her nose to add more depth and features to her.

I also took this opportunity to frame the sides of her face with hair and add highlights to it using the dodge tool.

I then added highlights to the rest of the hair.

As a final addition to the tail, I drew an outline of the main fin using the same method as I did for the previous fins and I then used the free transform tool to move it into position and adjust it's size.

At this point, It was time to add the views of the mermaids anatomy. I used the lasso tool to draw around a section of the tail and used the free transform tool to move it out slightly which left a gap. I used salmon flesh as a reference for the mermaid muscle and painted the section a selection of reds and oranges with white highlights to show the muscle pattern. 

The texture of the skin was nice but it looked rather stark in appearance compared to the rest of the body which was covered in shimmering scales. In order to fix this I used the lasso tool to select a section of scales and pasted them onto the layer above the skin to make it look like the god rays of light were reflecting off her face.

I also took this opportunity to add a bit more shading under the hair to add depth and create a realistic shadow that the light would produce.

I then used the selection too once again to copy the god ray and pasted it on top to intensify it and make it look like it was in front of the mermaid to add a foreground, mid ground and background to my illustration. 

After completing that, I added the finishing touches to the tail and used the same process as I did when creating the ribs- painting from dark to light in shades of beige.

In the same way her face looked too bare, the arm stood out and looked too smooth so I added some scales to the hands and shaded the rock layer underneath to make it look as if she was resting her hand upon it. Note that I only gave her three fingers too which contributes to her more creature than human appearance.

In my research I noticed there were a lot of fish which had translucent bodies so I used this idea on her chest and arm. I used a low opacity eraser to rub away the skin layer and this revealed the bone underneath, giving a fish-like see through appearance.

ARTIST FEATURE- Chris Panda

Ariel - The Little Mermaid

Chris Panda is a french illustrator and Comic artist who is perhaps most famous for his X-rays of popular characters that we know and love.

This kind of artwork adds an interesting though slightly unsettling new insight into the cartoons that some of us have grown up with.

In order to create pieces like this you must have a sound knowledge of human and even animal anatomy. From there you can interpret how the bones would lie to fit the characters body shape. 

I tried to use this approach when I drew my mermaid character and her ribs. (I ended up not actually having them on show but it was an interesting route to take and I would definitely try it again.)

Donald Duck

Does a beak count as a bone? I can't quite tell from this, his skull blends into his bill!

Jessica Rabbit

The anatomy doesn't lie…but no one could survive with a waist that tiny! 

Popeye

His broad torso has a large set of ribs and his trademark large forearms have enlarged bones in them while his leg bones are short and his feet are turned out.

Here are the foundations of the ribcage, spine and pelvis.

I then began to colour from a dark beige up to white 

Here you can see the skin layer added on top.

Chris Panda really influenced my project and it was interesting to see another artists perspective of a mermaids anatomy.

It seems the style of his pictures could be achieved through the use of a programme like Illustrator where you can make really fluid line art and adjust it however you want with it's pointer tools.

All you would need is a sketch of a well known character in it's signature pose and you could even live trace it then add the skeleton underneath in a different colour.

It's a simple process but the pictures are very effective and fun to look at.

ARTIST FEATURE- Esra Røise

Whimsical, spur of the moment and intricately detailed- Esra's pictures are flawless.

Esra Røise

"..Often uneven and jauntily framed, Røise’s illustrations recall spur-of-the-moment photographs. Distinguished by their elegance, playfulness and romanticism, the drawings capture the spirit of what it is like to be young, free and living in the moment.."

Text by Darya Antonovna Papko / Dazed&Confused

Simple line work with bold colour splashed across it is what made me use this piece.

Esra is a Norwegian Freelance Illustrator who seems to paint pictures of thought caught in the moment and portrays snapshots of impulsiveness. Some examples of her clients are VOGUE and Vivienne westwood and she frequently holds exhibitions in the USA, South America and even England :)

What I love about Esra's traditional drawings is how they seem so natural and she rarely has her subjects posing.

Her lines are crisp and flowing and her shading is flawless but that is offset by the splashes of watercolour strewn expertly over the page.

Something I am guilty of is not having the courage to marr my crisp linework with splodges of paint but when it's done as nicely as when Esra does it then I don't feel so unsure anymore. Though, it might be best to practice with a copy of a picture first instead of diving right in and smudging my graphite everywhere in the process!

The dash of colour from the blood adds a gorgeous new dimension to a plain but still beautiful portrait. The slightest hint of blue around her fingers compliments its colour opposite perfectly.

The way her hair is so delicately but accurately drawn is my favourite aspect of this portrait.

Practice enrichment - Life Drawing and evaluation and SWOT analysis

As part of my practice enrichment module, I was required to attend week of life drawing. I had only done life drawing once before and had found it to be an interesting experience that broadened my knowledge of anatomy and traditional drawing techniques under a timed session.
I really enjoyed this activity but towards the end of the week my arms and back were aching from all the standing and drawing. I was tired of studying the same models body and I had become slightly bored of the activity, not to mention the room was unbearably stuffy. So I conclude that for me personally life drawing is invaluable to an artist who wishes to progress in their own style and gain a good understanding of human anatomy- IN SHORT BURSTS! Doing it for a week straight from 9:00am-3:00pm is harsh on the hands and mind! But despite this I would do it again for the sake of progression.

Strengths: Drawing ability, attention to detail, ability to focus on the task fully.
Weaknesses: Standing up for too long hurts my back, I needed a stool and to lower my canvas which took up valuable time and broke my concentration.
Opportunities: Gain knowledge of anatomy, use of different materials, interesting and thought provoking tasks and challenges.
Threats: Tiredness, boredom, pain, mentally draining, some poses were unusual and hard to draw within the specified time limit.

The task given to us here was to sketch out the model in the position he was in for the amount of time we were given. At first we were given a good few minutes but the time got progressively slower to a few seconds until it was impossible to do anything but draw a line or stick man. The point of the exercise was to portray movement as the model stood in different positions around the room. By overlapping and using techniques like not taking your pencil off the paper it gave a blurred effect and livened up the image.

Front study 

With these two images we were required to hold a very long thin stick with charcoal attached to the end and were given a few minutes to draw the model. This was challenging and a fun approach though I would much rather have had an hour to finish it! 

Side view 2 minutes without taking charcoal off the paper 

For this example we were given about two hours to make a sketch, then we had to choose a set of different coloured chalks to draw with and we were asked to draw on top of our original picture. I didn't like this idea since I had spent time putting detail into the first picture but it's still an interesting approach to use.

3/4 back study

Ear study- this was the first piece we did and it required us to go up to the model and look at his ear for however long you wanted. Then you had to go back to your easel and draw it from memory, though you were allowed to keep going to have another look. I actually found this really hard because I was just settling into the whole life drawing scenario and it was a bit of a warm up sketch. I also disliked having to draw from memory but didn't think it was right to keep going over to stare!