inasmuch

the girl who waited

2012-01-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

College apps are all done! Now, I get to wait till April...

red, white, black

2011-11-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

Hi! Just a quick post in the midst of senior year shenanigans. Things have been kind of crazy because of applications and whatnot. The end is in sight though! Especially with all these lovely breaks from school coming up (:

This is just something I've been working on in art class at school. Quality of the photo isn't the best since it's from my friend's phone, but the main idea is there! She isn't that pale in actuality. Though I kind of wish she were, since it looks super awesome with her glowing all stark-white and everything. Three color acrylic palette! Red, White, Black. Had some brown in the background, but it doesn't show much. This is the first time I've really tried to paint something from imagination, kind of. I've been using references, but I have to piece together the whole thing myself, which is something I haven't had much experience with. It's fun though! Might try more stuff like this in the future.

More updates to come! Hope everyone's year is going swell.

S.

wave

2011-08-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

Water is so ridiculous to paint ahaha
I don't even know.

A gift for my calculus teacher! (He surfs, but I was too scared to paint a person surfing. Thus it's just a wave.) but shhhh... it's a surprise. I'll probably give it to him around Christmas time. Just wanted to get it done before the school year started and things got hectic!

Yay for first legitimate painting since freshman year? whoohoooo so psyched for another year of art!

Jensen

2011-08-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester from Supernatural.

yeahhh... I don't watch this show. but he has a nice face. and that's the only reason I need ahaha. It's for drawjensen.tumblr.com, so just a bit a fun. I left it rough because I kind of like the look of the cross-hatching.

So close with being done with my summerwork. One and a half weeks left until school starts ahhhhh when did that happen.

lines

2011-08-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

So far, every drawing in my moleskine is fairly quick, freehand sketch of a fashion photography reference. Different from what I usually draw (close-up facial portraits of male celebrities ahahah), but they're good practice.

This was practice with strong, clean lines, so I didn't go into much detail with shading and whatnot. A little minimalist, but it suits its purpose.

School is starting so soon. Aughhh summer where did you go.

Misha

2011-08-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

Misha Collins from Supernatural

This is for a fun thing that euclase has put together called Draw Misha Day. You can submit drawings of Misha, and she'll post them all on August 21, I believe. Should be fun to see all the submissions! To be honest, I've never watched Supernatural or seen Misha Collins in anything else ahahah but he has a nice face. And that's all the reason I need to draw someone (:

So, this is my first graphite portrait in a while, and man does it feel good to draw again. Tried a new technique for his skin, which is drawing in tiny little circular patterns before blending with a tissue. I like the result, so I'll most likely be keeping to that in the future as well. Yeah. His proportions are slightly off, but this was mainly an excuse to get back into practice anyway.

Planning on doing some acrylic painting next, but I probably won't have much to show for it, since college apps are now upon me. annnd I need to finish my summerwork. I can't believe it's August already. Summer's going by so fast.

2011-07-25T20:07:00.000-07:00

Third drawing in my moleskine! Reference was a fashion post on tumblr that showed up on my dashboard. I liked her hair and pose, so tried a quick sketch. Played around with lines a bit, since I really do love strong linework. I should sketch more.

Went to SDCC on Saturday. It was awesome. So tiring though. I slept until past 1 the next day ahaha

Emma

2011-07-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

This is supposed to be Emma Watson.
I haven't seen the new HP. or the last three HPs either ahah...
I am really behind the times.

blahhh digital painting is so surreal to me...
This took 2 hours ahahahaha. I really don't know how to paint with my tablet. maybe it's time I learned how to.

Damon

2011-07-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

Belated birthday present for my friend, Allison, who loves Damon Albarn and Gorillaz. Her birthday is in May, right smack in the middle of the AP testing hell weeks, so that's why it's late ahahaha

Second time using Prismacolors. I still feel rather like a grade-schooler while using them, since coloring is so foreign to me. Turned out all right though, although I'm not entirely happy with his eye or his clothing or the color scheme. ahahhaa oh well.

I need to paint sometime soon. I have 8 canvases sitting in my house. And I haven't even touched them.

Otherwise, summer is going swell. Keeping pretty busy but still have a good amount of free time. It's nice.

COLORS

2011-06-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

Matt Doyle
from Broadway's War Horse, Spring Awakening
also Gossip Girl and Private Romeo

His EP, Daylight, is available on iTunes! Go give it a listen and buy it! It's fabulous. He's super talented.

I think this is my first official Prismacolor drawing. Colors are tricky. I definitely haven't gotten the hang of them yet, but they're rather fun. I need to get some better paper though. The kind I used for this drawing really didn't work well with Prismas.

His face is all colorful because the reference I used is a concert picture (I think I got it from broadwayworld), and concert lighting always makes skin tone go all funky. I like it though. His proportions are off, but I think you can tell it's him, which is good enough for me since this drawing was mostly a learning process anyway.

SCHOOL IS OUT IN THREE DAYS
SUMMER HERE I COME

P.S. Plaid is kind of evil, but it turned out okay, I think? So I'm happy.

what I did in calculus

2011-05-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

Ellen.

She's on her phone haha.

didn't do anything in class because we took our AP test last week.

one more exam! and then I paint.

withDRAWals

2011-04-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

I've sworn not to go on tumblr, watch TV, or draw until AP testing season is over. I want to draw so badly it's ridiculous.

just one and a half more weeks. and then I'm going to watch the new Doctor Who episodes and go on tumblr and DRAW AND PAINT SO SO MUCH. SO EXCITED I CAN'T EVEN.

mrawww

2011-04-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

lol I haven't done one of these since 2009.

I think I've gotten worse. I should do more.

also:

Karen Gillan (from Doctor Who)

some quick and small sketches. good practice.

One more day of Spring Break left. Ridiculous.

drapes

2011-04-06T14:33:00.001-07:00

Don't think I managed to capture that seductive look in her eyes quite right, but to be honest, it was the draping of her dress that attracted me to the photo in the first place.

Danielle and the Doctor

2011-04-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

drew my friend Danielle with the tenth Doctor (played by David Tennant, from Doctor Who) for her birthday. I think she's seen this by now. If not, why the crap haven't you opened your presents yet, Danielle.

first time kind of compiling photo references to produce one drawing. I should probably thank all of her orchestra friends for taking tons and tons of random photos of her because I pulled like at least five different ones to reference for this one drawing. Sorry if your arms/elbows look funky, Danielle. I didn't have a ref for them ahaha

PS: This is what I imagine your main outfit as traveling companion to a time lord would be.

inception:

2011-03-12T22:42:00.000-08:00

n. The beginning of something, such as an undertaking; a commencement.

First drawing in my moleskine, which Danielle gave me for my birthday back in October. hahah took me a while to draw in it. I was a bit intimidated by all the blank pages and the nice paper they were made of, but I think I've conquered that fear now. But still, the paper is possibly the nicest I have ever drawn on.

Drawn without gridding or tracing or anything but looking at a reference, so I'm pretty happy with this sketch. It probably took an hour or two. I found the reference image somewhere on tumblr months ago and saved it because I liked her haircut ahahha. I really wonder what she's looking at in the photograph though...

but yeah, hair is way easier to do with graphite pencils. I smudged this drawing a bit... meh. hopefully it isn't that noticeable. I haven't drawn with my pencils in a long time, so I wasn't as careful.

As for what I'll decide to draw on the blank page, who knows?

title comes from the fact that I've started drawing in my moleskine. Also, I definitely had a two-level dream last night upon which I woke up with an idea...

Also, visit Danielle! -->her blog | her dA

Without her, this drawing would not have been possible because she gave me the moleskine and the pencils ahahah (:

scribbles

2011-03-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

mehh just a sketch I did of a friend during class.

I guess this is me easing myself into drawing from life?

you can see the drawings regarding the immune system I did on the back ahaha

Jean-Baptiste

2011-03-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

Jean-Baptiste Maunier.

singer & actor.

Love love love his voice.

Doing this portrait helped me realize some things:

1) I'm far too dependent on lines, meaning that I'm not comfortable actually painting. I absolutely need a lineart. I think this is because I'm still used to drawing with pencils, where lines are everything... which is kind of weird because I honestly haven't drawn anything with graphite for ages. But I can't just lay down colors and create a face from there, and I really want to be able to. Maybe I'll start painting traditionally again... the art teacher at school sells cheap canvases apparently and I have a ton of paint in my garage that I haven't touched since freshman year ahaha

2) I'm really not comfortable sketching faces without cheating and using a bit of layered help... this, I think I can change by drawing more with pencils (without gridding... haha). I'm really too reliant on whatever's going to make my life easier and make the subject look more like who it's supposed to be... that's the problem with realism for me, I guess. So yeah. More drawing with graphite, charcoal, pen... whatever it takes. I should probably start drawing from life, but that's harder because of lack of people who will sit still for hours...

3) which brings me to my next weakness: speed. This was supposed to be a speedpaint (that's why it's rough). I was basically thinking of limiting myself to two hours for this portrait.... definitely took at least five or six... maybe even up to seven or eight... which is wayyyy too long... yeahhh I need more practice with that...

4) I have absolutely no idea how to draw/paint hair. None. Whatsoever. At all. One of the reasons why I mainly draw guys is because they have less hair. Seriously. Girls=long hair=no thank you. at least not until I figure out how to draw it correctly. which probably won't be anytime soon.

5) Painting in black and white/greyscale is just as hard as painting in color.

6) I'm far too reliant on the just-add-water blur tool. I need to start experimenting with opacities and wean off the blurring a bit...

Hope everyone's doing well! Thanks for following!

-S.

What I Wouldn't Do For You

2011-02-12T21:54:00.000-08:00

Matt Doyle

Broadway: War Horse, Spring Awakening, Bye Bye Birdie. TV: Gossip Girl

I would recommend looking him up on youtube. He has a gorgeous voice.

The lighting in the reference is absolutely gorgeous, so I tried my best to get the same glowy effect. Colors are a lot of fun. On the other hand, painting metal is really hard and I kind of got lazy about those details. I'm happy with the result though! Not quite sure about the cropping though. I might change it later. But, ta-daa! First full portrait of 2011 completed!

CREDIT: Post title comes from the song of the same name by Ryan Scott Oliver, which Matt was singing when the reference photo was taken. Reference photo by Matthew Murphy.

Also, I've gotten an art tumblr! --> shaynuh.tumblr.com

Starring

2011-02-04T23:08:00.000-08:00

Done with finals and first semester!

And look how much I painted today! :D

I feel accomplished.

Just need to finish the hair and fix up some of the lighting on his face and I'm done with his head!

post title comes from the song "Starring" by Freelance Whales

perseverance

2011-01-19T22:38:00.000-08:00

new WIP.

I swear I'm not giving up on this one like I did with my last one. The reference for this one is one of my favorites. The lighting hits his face in all these purple and blue hues. It's gorgeous. I'm looking forward to playing with colors and tones and blending.

Also, I've found my new favorite brush: fine camel. so inky and smooth. makes the colors seem really bold. I love it.

Finals are coming up. ugh.

Time to study.

Mr. Grint

2010-12-29T18:27:00.000-08:00

RUPERT FREAKING GRINT

This took a long time. I've left out his scruff because facial hair is a pain, and I'm convinced that he would have turned out looking creepy in the portrait if I had included it.

This was mostly fun, until I just wanted it finished. Good first (finished) try at digital painting though in my opinion. first attempts at colors, clothing, and more importantly HAIR. which took a long time. and of which I'm proud of even though it doesn't look particularly ginger. I also like how his shirt turned out...

The photo which I used as a reference for this is floating somewhere around the internet. Don't have a link, sorry.

I haven't seen HP7 part one yet. gah.

HAPPY NEW YEAAAR EVERYONE!

Hair

2010-12-19T22:51:00.000-08:00

Hair is a funny thing.

What you see isn't really what you get when it comes to photographs. Or at least in this case it isn't. I use the eyedropper tool to get the hues I use on my drawing, and I've realized that you never get the colors that you think you'll get.

This guy is ginger. for sure. 100%

The only colors I pick up with my eyedropper are shades of blonde and brown. So I've been compensating for it by overlaying thin layers of orange hues in some areas.

This is the first time I've actually tried painting hair in Corel Painter. It's not as bad as I had expected it to be, but I'm still far from done. He's not looking too shabby though, so I haven't gotten frustrated yet haha. This has actually been a fantastic way for me to figure out my preferred approach to painting hair.

2010 summary

2010-12-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

2010 summary.

dA: http://sunflake.deviantart.com/art/fudged-2010-summary-189377960

months are repeated because I'm lame and don't draw enough to legitly fill up a true year-long summary.

December is my current WIP.

hopefully you can tell who it is by now?

? update

2010-12-09T21:10:00.000-08:00

I hate ~~pupils~~ irises. They are little demon circles of hell.

In other aspects, however, mystery man is coming along quite nicely I think. Maybe I'll release a second screenshot/clue this weekend

? wip 1

2010-12-03T23:10:00.000-08:00

I am not ashamed that I spend my Friday night playing my Chopin, painting celebrities, catching up on my favorite shows, and listening to indie music.

and I never will be.

but Misfits, omg. I love this show. plus they used "Spanish Sahara" by Foals in the background of one of the scenes! if only my internet wasn't so laggy when it comes to videos...

Any guesses who the new portrait is of? I don't think I'm going to skimp out and not finish this one. The tones aren't as washed-out as those in the Casey reference I used, so this guy won't turn out looking as pasty, which is good.

Ellen

2010-11-29T17:24:00.000-08:00

Ellen!

Portrait of a friend for her 16th birthday. First thing I've freehanded in over a year. It doesn't look exactly like her, but she likes it. So I'm pretty pleased with the overall result.

off to study for my calc test! ahh wish me luck!

casey wips

2010-11-21T17:10:00.000-08:00

I think I've given up on this.

He looks downright ridiculous now that I've tried to add hair and clothing. Plus his scruff is never going to look good. It was a bold attempt though, no?

Maybe I'll try him again when I actually have loads of time to spare...

Although technically, I kind of do right now.

It's Thanksgiving Break, thankfully! (no pun intended)

School was starting to really get to me... homework=mehhhh

I've still got loads of homework over the break but I can deal with that. It's nice to have time off.

I'll probably have a graphite portrait up within a week.

Thanks for following!

casey wip

2010-10-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

Casey Affleck.

First attempt at digital portraiture. I'd say he's coming along pretty decently, so far. Far from perfect, but then again, I'm far from done. Painting with a tablet is definitely a completely different beast than painting with a paintbrush.

bahh

2010-09-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

won't be drawing/posting for a while. my schedule and my workload are both horrible.

haven't drawn anything decent (or at all, for that matter) for months now, which is sad, but academics come first so art's going on the back burner for now.

I wish I had more leisure time for drawing, reading, and practicing piano, but that is sooo not going to happen anytime soon...

anyway, thanks for following! I'll be back as soon as I can be.

-Shana

brushes

2010-09-03T18:23:00.000-07:00

Playing with brushes to try to figure out Corel Painter...

The line art was traced from a photo reference of Kaya Scodelario because I was lazy and needed something to test brushes on.

I haven't gotten the hang of blending skin in a way that I'm happy with, but I have completely fallen in love with the colors available.

Smeared black ink

2010-08-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I am going to MASTER drawing digitally! hahaha hopefully this temporary determination will get me somewhere.

School is starting in like TWO FREAKING WEEKS. which is not cool. because I still have to outline like 30 pages and make 30 flashcards and write a report.

ALSO, first person to guess who the person I drew above is (which I'm pretty sure will be hard to do...) will win a free drawingg! You pick a celebrity or send me a photo of someone, and I will draw them for you. Realistically. with my lovely, lovely graphite pencils. I would also like to thank you all for following, even though there aren't that many of you haha. It still means a lot. I promise to have some actual drawings that I take seriously up soon!

Oh and I switched emails for my blogger so that's why on my account it says I don't follow anyone. I am still following people, just not on blogger. I follow all the blog feeds, twitters, etc that I'm interested in on my google reader.

blah

2010-07-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

So I kind of feel like gridding is impairing my ability to draw from life, something that I've never felt I've been necessarily good at anyways. Plus, measuring all the sides of references and then doing the same with my drawing paper is getting really annoying. I think I'd improve more if I stopped gridding for a while and focused more on drawing from sight. Plus I should probably pick up my tablet and actually learn how to use it since it costs way too much to just sit neglected under a pile of summerwork.

I'll probably go back to gridding eventually when I actually get tools to do details better. After all, it's basically foolproof if you're looking to draw a likeness of someone or something. But yeah! I need to work on life-drawing skills! Not that I have that much time because of summerwork anyway... ughh how is it almost August already....

I should probably do a self portrait one of these days.

Anyways, I've got a tumblr at which I reblog stuff I like here: http://shaynuh.tumblr.com/

Check it out if you want to.

-S.

Ben

2010-06-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

Ben Moss

Spring Awakening Alum, Harvard class of 2013

This boy is ridiculously talented. Look him up on youtube and check out his original songs. So good. I'm a big fan.

I'm not going to lie. I really really really like how this turned out. This is the best reference I've ever used. Photo credit goes to Emily Xie. You can see the photo HERE and HERE.

It was actually pretty fun doing the freckles. Facial hair, not so much.

My ridiculously messy desk.

Jude

2010-06-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

Jude Law.

Drawn for a friend's birthday even though it's now a month late.

aaaand an earthquake just occurred. lovely.

Random/I don't think anyone reads this anyways:

I performed a piano solo on Saturday at my school's Showcase event and it was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think I've conquered my stage fright at last! Which is really a relief to me and should take a lot of stress away when I perform now. But for the first time actually playing on a stage with a tech crew and lights and everything in front of a couple hundred of people (in a floor length dress which I have certainly never done before), I didn't even feel my heart start to pound. Just went on, played my lovely Chopin etude which I still can't do justice after 15 months of learning/practicing, and left. I'm quite pleased that I now know that I can do that without getting physically nervous. It used to be that my pedal foot would shake uncontrollably (as would my hands and my heart would thump like crazy). But it's all gone now! (:

Seven more days of school = why am I still in school?

Lastly, I'm not sure how not posting for a couple of months equates two new followers, but thank you! I really do appreciate it. And it's not like i'll clog up your dashboards since I don't post very frequently anyways(:

Oh and I don't have a link to the ref. Sorry I keep on forgetting to save the URLs.

(He's in a towel, btw. That's what that giant blank space is)

THIS MARKS THE END OF BIRTHDAY GIFT ART. I'm now going to spend at least the next year being selfish and drawing the crapload of references I have queued up in my REFS folder on my desktop. Who's ready to see some major freckle fail?

carpe diem

2010-04-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

Drawn for an illustrated quotation competition at Latin Convention, which was loads of fun. It was a nice break from all this stress going in my district... teachers are on strike, and AP testing is coming up reaaally soon... ugh.

Yeah. Back to studying chem and euro.

here's a link to my tumblr if you're interested in looking around there: shaynuh.tumblr.com

We Could Be Heroes (Ewan)

2010-04-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

Mr. Ewan McGregor

(post title comes from Moulin Rouge!)

Pretty happy with this, considering I got lazy in the end like I always do. There are aspects I don't like... but I'm kinda over it by now. I've noticed I tend to like a drawing less and less the more I look at it. Which is why most of mine get stuffed in some drawer after I finish them, haha. My mom always asks me why I give my drawings away... I feel that they're better appreciated when I give them to other people. Plus, I find it as motivation to draw just as well next time, so that if I keep it, I'll like it. I'm going to be kinda sad to see Ewan here go though... Now that I've taken another look at him, I'm quite fond of him... although I'm not sure whether that stems from my adoration for him as an actor or the work I put into drawing his face ahaha. Both, probably.

I'm giving Mr. McGregor here to my friend Danielle who was extremely generous in giving me these LOVELY, LOVELY supplies:

She's amazing. It's pretty ridiculous how excited I got when she told me I could have these (plus a nice pad of drawing paper which is what I drew Ewan on and a little Faber-Castell carrying case) . She claims she's had them for forever but she's never used them because she's primarily a digital artist. You can check out her stuff at her dA: http://songst3r.deviantart.com/. Ewan is partially a thank-you gift and partially a HAPPY BIRTHDAY gift! (:

But yeah. I lied. I said I wasn't going to work on this for a while (because technically I wasn't supposed to). But since school is starting again on Monday, and thus I was not feeling like doing anything academically productive, I decided to finish him up. So here he is. With sucky beard and background and all. Still looking not-so-bad though, if I say so myself.

I need to get an eraser-pen so I can do details like scruff and stubble...

Also, fun-fact, I did his hair TWICE. Because the first time it looked like crap so I erased the entire thing and started over. And I still don't really like it.

Reference HERE! Absolutely beautiful photograph.

So, AP testing coming up, as I mentioned in my last post. meaning I am not drawing until basically, halfway through May.

That is, if these tests don't kill me first.

-S.

All The Stars Bend Over Sideways

2010-04-08T18:18:00.000-07:00

This is nowhere near done, but I probably won't be able to work on it for a while because of testing coming up. Ignore his random bald spot. I've been having trouble with getting his hair right. Also ignore the completely off shadows/shading. And his unfinished suit.

I am absolutely dreading drawing his stubble. But I'm going to do it. Good practice, yeah?

(I've got a really nice reference lined up including freckles AND stubble! Probably saving it for summertime when I can really give it my all :D )

The beautiful reference photo I used is HERE.

I believe I'm allowed to draw it, after reading through the CC license...

Hopefully you can tell that this is Ewan McGregor, whom I absolutely adore. At one point in time, I was convinced that I had made him look like Aaron Eckhart. But I've fixed that now, I think.

Right, so. Improvement, I think, since last time I drew him back in August of 2009. (HERE)

When I have time, I'm changing my header and my side-panel link.

Ugh, I hate testing.

Stick around to see the finished product!

-S.

PS. Post title comes from one of my favorite songs, "A Comet On Its Way" by Duncan Sheik & Steven Sater. Sadly it got cut from Spring Awakening... ):

Camilla

2010-04-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

Quick drawing of Camilla from Into the Fold.

I have a very nice reference picked out for my next drawing...

It includes scruff. So we'll see how that goes hahaha.

- S.

2010 portrait count: 4

Rupert

2010-03-13T14:47:00.000-08:00

Rupert Grint

(Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies)

Technically done for a friend's birthday... after her birthday had already passed hahaha. I only do birthday art for motivation. Which I really needed. Finally finished this portrait today after it had been sitting on my desk until a pile of crap for three weeks.

But really, I wanted to finish this so I could start new art! I will be drawing a header for Camilla's blog (http://intothefoldfashion.blogspot.com/) and I will also be doing some "thank-you" gift art for my friend Danielle (http://songst3r.deviantart.com/), who was nice enough to give me some Faber-Castell and Prismacolor pencils she didn't want!

To be honest, I only started working on this Rupert portrait again yesterday because I wanted to test out my pencils. They are very, very, very nice. Way better than my old crappy cheap ones.

I am very happy with how Rupert turned out. I kinda rushed through the shirt though, because I'm not really a fan of drawing folds. The "he's a keeper" thing is something I saw online. Because Ron Weasley's a keeper in Quidditch... and because keepers are boys that you shouldn't let go!

Ahaha I thought it was cute so I included it in some extra space I had on the bottom.

2010 completed portrait count: 3!

I need to draw more.

Zooey, take 2

2010-02-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

Zooey Deschanel, take two.

Take one: here

The reference was a really gorgeous shot - link

Ehh, I kinda rushed this one. Wanted to get it done with. I'm not too happy with the face):

But I like the hair. And the bow.

I don't plan on drawing lace ever again.

I don't particularly like drawing full-body shots, now that I think about it. After the failed Matt attempt, and now this, I think I'm going to revert back to full-face detailed shots(:

Small faces are really hard to do well.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

2010 completed portrait count: 2!

Matt attempt

2010-02-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

Matt Doyle

Broadway's Bye Bye Birdie, Spring Awakening

He also sang the role of Peter in the album version of Bare

I am not really motivated to finish this because:

1. I don't think it really looks like him.
2. I really really suck at doing dark tones. And fabrics. And dark toned fabrics. (I probably need to buy a better 8B...and I need a 9B...)

but mainly because of 1.

Because I don't really want to invest a lot of time in something when I know I won't be happy with the result. So for now, I'm leaving this one like this. Expect to see his face on here again though, because I'm definitely not giving up on drawing him. I just need a better/easier ref... hahah. This one didn't really have a lot of shadows.

If you don't know who he is watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC5zMkvZpg0

He's pretty much amazing(:

Emma & Will

2010-02-05T17:11:00.000-08:00

Emma Pillsbury and Will Schuester from Glee

(Played by Jayma Mays and Matthew Morrison)

A really quick sketch. Drew Emma basically with no eraser, and then I screwed up Will. So that's why he looks like Frankenstein here.

I love Glee though, and I can't wait till episodes come back in April! Especially since Jonathan Groff is going to be guest starringg!

I've started a new line art. I don't know how it's going to look, because the face is at an angle in the ref, and I'm really bad at angled faces... I'll probably use this one as a practice at drawing and shading textures though because it's almost a full body shot. And he's wearing jeans.

FINALS ARE OVERRR

hello!

2010-01-31T12:54:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to apologize for the lack of posts recently. Finals are this week and, although I haven't been studying as much as a should, I promised myself to put off drawing until they're over. Horrible, I know):

I'm not going to lie, my second semester schedule is really, really, really busy, but hopefully I can get through it with a decent amount of sleep! I'll try to draw as much as I can. My goal for 2010 is to end up with at least 20 graphite portraits I am proud of. Right now, the count is: 1. (The amazing Mr. Nicholas Hoult as seen in the post below) Ahaha...

So, in order to (hopefully!) motivate myself, I'm posting a list on here of some famous faces you can except to see over the next few months! I currently have a folder filled with amazing references I've found on various sites, and I already have my next ref printed out and ready to gooo.

Next up!

Matt Doyle (Broadway's Bye Bye Birdie and Spring Awakening)

Possibly On Deck:

Mitch Hewer (Skins)

Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog)

Kevin McHale (Glee)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer)

I may draw some people more than once because there are some really great references I just can't resist, but it really just depends on my mood... I have a line art for John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness in my drawer right now, but I don't really feel like finishing it haha.

But first, Finals! Wish me luck...

Nicholas

2010-01-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

Nicholas Hoult

from Skins, A Single Man, About a Boy

My first drawing of the year! This is the first time I've used my Prismacolors in a lonnnnng time... but I wanted his eyes to pop out(: So what do you think?

This was another practice with gridding. It really helps and saves a lot of time. This drawing measures 7x4 inches. I drew it on regular printer paper using HB, 2B, 4B, 8B and 2H for gridding. The ref is HERE.

(btw, that's a very nice website. and so is fuckyeahmeninsuits.tumblr.com and fuckyeahmeninties.tumblr.com) :D

Anyways, I've started watching Skins and I absolutely adore it. I love the storylines, the format of the show, the actors, and even though I've only seen four episodes, I've already gotten really attached to the characters. I started watching it because I found out Nicholas Hoult was in it, haha. And I only found out about him because I saw him in the trailer for A Single Man, which looks amazinggg. I want to see it so badly. It's rated R though...

Sorry, I know it's really crappy quality. I don't know why. I probably have a sucky scanner... or I just don't know how to use it properly.

EDIT: upped the contrast and uploaded that image instead.

Farewell

2009-12-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

Tenth Doctor as played by David Tennant<3

via my dA: http://sunflake.deviantart.com/art/Farewell-148495636

^^visit(:

I'm going to miss him so much.

Farewell David!

drawing measures approx. 10x14

reg .07 mechanical, 2H, H, HB, 2B, 4B, 8B, blending stump, tissue

My first gridded drawing! I measured out squares on my ref and my actual drawing paper.

I wrote more stuff on my dA description haha

cheers!

EDIT: after watching http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ba5Q0NrQ8

(!!!! link contains SPOILERS for Doctor Who the End of Time !!!!)

I love David and David's Doctor even more. if that's possible. which i'm not sure it is.

Matt Smith has a lot to live up to as number 11

David's regeneration scene better be freaking epic.

I am beyonddd excited. but I also don't want New Year's to ever come because then it's really over for Ten):

Jaejoong

2009-12-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

Kim Jaejoong or Hero Jaejoong of TVXQ/DBSK, which I believe is a Korean pop band?
I'm probably wrong about some part of that last sentence.

This was a (slightly belated) birthday present for a friend. She's a fan of this guy. I did not know who he was until I looked him up.

2H, H, HB, 2B, 4B, 8B.
I got new pencils!

Click for full-view. Also, I'm now also posting on deviantART at: SUNFLAKE.DEVIANTART.COM so check me out there!

ref

baby

2009-11-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

HB only. Sorry if you can see the annoying line across the middle of his/her (I can never tell with babies...) face and the text. I've been drawing on the blank backs of weekly schedules my English teacher likes to print out even though he probably kills an entire forest every year doing that....

Copied from a Sears Portrait Studio ad. Too lazy to scan it in, but I believe the photo is on their website in a flashy little slideshow. The baby's wearing a Santa hat, even though it's too early for Christmas (or at least I think so)

James

2009-10-31T15:08:00.000-07:00

James Franco.
Tristan & Isolde, Spider-Man, Milk, Pineapple Express
(I've actually only seen the first two of the above listed movies)

This was a basic study in proportions drawn entirely in HB. I did this at school in probably under one and a half hours. Copied from a Gucci by GUCCI Men's fragrance ad I tore out from a magazine because it was a good facial closeup. It had one of those open and sniff samples of the eau de toilette that it was advertising. So yes, this drawing smells like man. As did I after working on it.
REF

Yeah, I know, it's not David Tennant. But I think I'm going to practice a bit more on facial proportions before I draw DT, so I don't screw him up.

Zooey

2009-10-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

Zooey Deschanel
(500 Days of Summer, Elf, Yes Man)
She's also in She & Him with M. Ward. And she's engaged to Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard.

This is the result of me over-abusing my 4B and my blending tissue. I'm not very happy with the outcome (I personally think it doesn't look anything like HER), and it took me way too long to finish. I would guess arounnnnd 7 hours (but then again I didn't actually time it... it probably seems like such a long time because it was very, very troublesome).

I fixed her face (meaning I would erase her nose or her eye and draw it again in a slightly different spot) an innumerable amount of times. I think it more difficult than usual because of the slight tilt of her head. Note to self: don't draw people who are too pretty, because it's too hard to get them to look right.

Anyways, she gave me a lot more trouble than EWAN did. I'm sorry, Zooey. It's not my fault your face is too perfectly proportional to copy onto paper.

Let's hope my next portrait isn't such a disaster?
(spoilers: it's proooobably going to be David Tennant. I'm excited :D)

also, LINKS are in caps because I can't figure out how to get them to show up in a different color.

update

2009-10-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

I've updated my layout and banner for a cleaner look. I recently got a tablet for my birthday, so I've been testing it out. It's really different and hard to get used to! I drew this hand to practice blending skin using Corel Painter and just to practice drawing digitally. I might be posting more digital stuff, but traditional is still my favorite. I want to try some coffee painting, so keep your eyes out for that!

-S.

amor

2009-10-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

"LOVE CONQUERS ALL"
I'd like to blame my growing love of typography on Quoteskine and Wordboner.
Doodled this in Latin class during a lecture on passive tense. Inked with an old Papermate pen I found in my house.

last day

2009-10-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

I really like this blending with tissues technique... it makes everything look smooth and shiny :D
This self portrait actually reminds me a lot of loish.deviantart.com 's style. I love her work, so I'm pleased with this, even though (again) it doesn't really look like me.
Click the image for full-view, please!

So, this is my last day of being 14. I don't think I'll look any different tomorrow. Oh, and my hair is only in braids because I want to get it wavy.

Don't expect a lot of posts soon... PSAT's coming up, so I'm gonna have to start studying a lot for that.

Cheers,
S.

puella

2009-10-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

These are old. Like a year old. I made these last year in art class. Printmaking was one of the first projects we did. This is a linoleum cut, which was way easier and less time consuming than the woodcut, Jaguar, I did. I did the woodcut first, and then got lazy for the linoleum cut so I traced some magazine ad. (I added her necklace though).

So as far as this goes, this is really really unoriginal. Plus the prints didn't turn out real well... I like the top left purple-green one the best, although the bottom right orangey-red one turned out the cleanest.

I'm posting it now, because school has been devouring my free time and I haven't really drawn anything worth posting. Plus, my art teacher just found these the other day after losing them for a year... haha.

I JUST CHANGED MY FACEBOOK LANGUAGE TO LATIN AND IT IS AMAZING.

I promise I'll try to get up something legit soon.
(psst, if all goes according to plan, I should be able to squeeze in a mirror self portrait this weekend! which is something i haven't done in too long)

Michaelangelo

2009-09-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

Eh, quick update. Haven't drawn my hands for a while, so enjoy!
(I promise my fingers look more proportional in real life)
:D

Also, learning about Renaissance artists in AP Euro has made me more jealous than I've ever been. Curse you and your skills, Michaelangelo.

school ):

2009-09-08T20:42:00.001-07:00

I probably won't be posting very often since school's started. The homework load is unbelievable... maybe I'll post some doodles from class? Haha, let's hope not. I don't want my art life dying on me again.

-S.

Ewan

2009-08-31T16:36:00.000-07:00

Ewan McGregor,
one of my favorite actors
(Star Wars, The Island, Moulin Rouge)
He's also going to be in The Men Who Stare at Goats which comes out in November

This is my first attempt at really, really realistic shading as well as my first realism portrait in a while. I'm happy to say that I'm very pleased with how it turned out. At first, I was afraid it wouldn't look like him, but it actually kind of does! But I know that I need to work on hair and lips for future portraits.

One of my blending tissues (first time I've tried this method. It works really well)

Ref: 1
and a BIG thank you to Cataclysm-X for her amazing tutorials!

don't fade into the background

2009-08-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

I know you still
would rather mess with me than get going
She's been building up a castle in LA
Roll the dice for me
-"Fences", Phoenix

A friend and I are doing themed art trades. First theme: fence.
In a way I suppose that this falls in the same category as the drawing in my "let's be honest" entry. I'm exploring this type of style and thinking of making it into a series. If I do, It's going to be about beauty and what can lie underneath the underneath. Looks aren't everything.

Click to full-view. It's rather messy, I apologize, but unfortunately that's just how I draw. (On a slightly unrelated note, I would love to try out some Blu-Tack as a graphite eraser. I've heard it works wonders.)

No references! Not drawing from sight is definitely out of my comfort zone, but it's good to dabble in different things, I think.
Inspiration: Phoenix (lovely, lovely band. definitely one of my favorites.)

blazers

2009-08-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

They're wearing the same thing because of my lack of creativity.
School starts in three weeks...
*must finish summerwork*

refs/insp:
1 | 2

let's be honest

2009-08-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

What is beauty?

Secrets:
1. It looks better in real life.
2. I upped the contrast using Picasa.
3. I hate noses.
4. Eyebrows are overrated.
5. I'm taking a break from drawing strictly realism.
6. I've been on an art block for a while now.
7. THIS ENDS IT!

References/Inspiration:
1 | 2 | 3
:D hahaha

bow

2009-07-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't been drawn myself in a while so I'm just trying to get back on track.

summer

2009-07-24T22:30:00.000-07:00

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel in (500) Days of Summer

Just a quick sketch I did. It doesn't do them nearly enough justice, I'm afraid. I want to see this movie so badly, but it's not playing anywhere near me...

vacation

2009-07-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

I just got back from vacation a couple of days ago. This was just a little sketch I did of myself while sitting in the backseat of the car looking at the rearview mirror. It's done in ballpoint pen, a medium I'm usually not comfortable drawing in because I can't erase. But I think this turned out pretty well. I like the kind of ragged style, since I usually rely on pencil and stumps to create a smooth feel in my portraits.

Also, this band makes me feel so happy(: You might have heard this song on the Bacardi mojito commercial... I would embed the video, but it's disabled.
Daylight-Matt and Kim

michelle

2009-06-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

Michelle Obama, current First Lady.
Click to see the reference image I used.
I actually own the magazine, though so I didn't draw it looking at the link above. Click the image to enlarge it!

两只蝴蝶

2009-06-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Two Butterflies
I painted this for Showcase 2009, which was so fun.
It's actually for my mom, because her favorite Chinese song is called "两只蝴蝶".
It's hanging in our formal dining room now.
Sorry for the crappy picture quality, but these were all taken on my cell phone.
My camera is lame and dysfunctional.
I hope you like the in-progress photos!

ONE MORE DAY!
Only math and english finals to go...

one more week

2009-06-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

Charcoal doodles of some magazine pictures.
Top is actor, Anton Yelchin. Bottom two are Burberry ads.
I believe all three are from an ELLE magazine, but I'm not sure.

ONE MORE WEEK OF SCHOOL!

):

2009-06-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

Penelope Cruz.

Copied from a L'Oreal advertisement in ELLE magazine by the request of a friend.
Drawn backstage during Showcase 2009 while laying on a wooden dance floor.
I'm going to miss performing.
And my back is sore from being propped up in an apparently bad position for over an hour.

Right, so

2009-05-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

STAR TREK WAS AMAZING.

The Earth

2009-04-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

Is Not a Cold Dead Place.

EDITED: art show

2009-04-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

Surrealism, though it isn't very surreal. This was based off a reference of my old backyard.

"Light" was the topic for this one. I only used four colors: purple, yellow, white, black. It's not finished yet, though.

These two were both put up for a school art show. ~~Sorry for the lame photo quality, but they were taken on my phone. I'll post better photos once I finish the second one, and once I find the reference for the first. (:~~

EDIT: The "Light" painting is going to be in an art show/benefit for my school again! (I'll post the references of the surrealism once my scanner stops acting up.)

hope

2009-03-28T14:46:00.001-07:00

The thing shooting out of the hand spiderman-style is a ribbon, not a sword. The blue on white print was for my brother, and I'm planning on cutting up the red shirt to make a tote.

bag

2009-03-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

Crocheted from when I was sick and bedridden. It's a cross-body bag and about the size of my hand. The inside lining is handsewn.

progress

2009-03-24T21:23:00.001-07:00

Number four, I believe. Click the tags to see my other self-portraits!
PS: I really want a Moleskine.

dad

2009-03-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

experimental life model sketch.

faces

2009-03-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

Imaginary people seem to be more interesting than real ones. I love how easily charcoal spreads and smears. I think it's the most gorgeous, free-flowing, and easy to control medium I have ever worked with.

Though I have to admit my drawing skills with no references are improving, I'll try to draw some actual humans soon.

tee

2009-03-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

New shirts are always fun. Original ones that are designed by you and are one of a kind are even better.

I think

2009-03-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

I'm losing my grasp on reality.

to a panda

2009-02-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

Pandas seem to be the only thing I can draw without a reference. The first three date back to last year. The second batch are from this week in Latin, haha. I'm making a t-shirt out of this guy:
because he's awesome.

in your eyes

2009-02-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

I sincerely believe that the world would be a better place if people were not as self-conscious, nosy, mean, annoying, fake, judgmental, shallow, hypocritical... we have a long way to go.

tyger tyger

2009-02-22T15:17:00.000-08:00

Sharpie is an interesting, albeit smelly, medium.

in sickness

2009-02-20T18:32:00.000-08:00

Prismacolor

pencil

I've been terribly sick lately. Here's some of my scribbles.
Catching up on late work is not fun.

I don't recommend catching pneumonia.

mirror, mirror

2009-02-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

January 18, 2009

February 7, 2009

I've decided to draw one mirror self portrait every month. Here are the first two, both in pencil. I was debating whether I should wait another month to post three at once, but I'm afraid there won't be as drastic of an improvement between the second and third. We'll see.

Please click for full-view!

maroon

2009-02-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

I have found my new favorite color.

Rain, shine, rain

2009-02-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

HuangShan landscape, acrylics

Marco Bicego jewelry portrait, acrylics

Two small canvas paintings I did as assignments in SOCSA art. I've discovered that I like to layer paints a lot.

Californian weather is the most fickle thing I've ever seen.

unibrowls

2009-02-04T20:47:00.000-08:00

Thin Sharpie on purple construction paper. Thinking of posting it to Threadless, but I think it needs to work.

Odd days aren't much fun.

Jaguar

2009-01-31T17:09:00.000-08:00

Woodcut project. Drawn, pasted, carved, inked, printed, and framed. Oxford comma! Which I only know about because of Vampire Weekend (a really good band). Amazing how much music can teach you.

Oh, and piano seems to take more out of me than I get back in return. The anxiety I experience before performing is not so fun.

fresh start

2009-01-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

First thing I have ever painted/drawn that I am continuously proud of. Charcoal and watercolor. Still-life of a cowskull and a little rocking chair set up in my art class. There was originally a human skull between the two, but I opted it out because of lack of space. First project of the school year. I really think SOCSA has made a difference.

I (my parents more of) bought a nice big frame from Ikea for it. Turns out the glass is not very good quality, seeing as it cracked. Exchanged it and after being very careful with it, it's sitting on my dining room table. I don't know where to hang it.

ps:

2009-01-28T20:12:00.000-08:00

So, this is what I do during math class. Or at least it was what I used to do. Yes, that is a hunchback penguin. And I'll be posting some actual art class stuff later.

Anways, I stumbled upon this project: postsecret.com or blog.myspace.com/postsecret
And I have to admit it's one of the most intriguing things I have ever seen. It's so personal and raw and real. It really makes me think about how fake people are in real life, and how there's usually more to someone then they let on. Maybe I'll mail in a postcard someday.

Happy Chinese New Year

2009-01-26T18:05:00.000-08:00

Year of the ox. Let's hope it's a good one.

go

2009-01-23T18:09:00.000-08:00

charcoal and Prismacolor

I think it's rather funny how I had wanted Prismacolors for the longest time, but ever since I bought them, I haven't used them much.

It turns out I don't really like coloring.