Abi

This little girl was such a joy to draw.  Her little facile expressions jus radiated happiness, making the last few days enjoyable.

The Gap.

This last week it seems I have had an extra hard time drawing.  I think sometimes you go though those little ruts...or big ruts. .  I just have to figure out how to push past them and to keep drawing.  I have to remind myself why I draw to begin with.  Ira Glass says its because I have good taste but its really because I just love it!  

This quote from Ira Glass has been on my mind lately, so I decided to share it. 

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners.  I wish somebody told me.  All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste.  But there is this gap.  For the first couple of years you makes stuff, It's just not the good, It's trying to be good, it has potential, but it's not.  But your taste the thing that got you into the game, It's still killer.  And thats why your work disappoints you.  A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit.  Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went though years of this.  We know our work doesn't have the special thing that we want it to have.  We all go though this.  And if you are just starting out, or still in this phase you got to know this is normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work.  It is only by going though a volume of work that you will close the gap.  And your work will be as good as your ambitions.  And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I've ever met.  It's going to take awhile its normal to take awhile.  You've just got to fight your way though. " - Ira Glass

Little Princess

I'm working in Corel Painter but I'm still trying to get a more of a traditional look and feel.  By using one of their stock 2B pencil I'm getting a little bit closer to the look I want.  With 2B pencil you can see a grainy texture (I was using a stock airbrush before).   I'm also trying to tighten up my style which is one of my hardest skills to achieve.  I love the loose strokes of painting but I having been able to master.  I get better results when I get it as clear as I can.  I'm also focusing on resembling  the people I'm drawing, so keeping close attention to shape is a must.

Thank you to Nikki for letting me draw her little princess.  She was the winner of my "Like and Share" competition on Facebook. 

Enjoy!

The Apprentice

'

It all started because I needed to find a subject to draw.  Sometimes that is the longest process for me, finding something that will look good in this my particular style and that I won't mind staring at for a few solid hours.  I decided to ask my friends on Facebook if they had any suggestions.  I figured that I'd just draw the first person that sends me a picture, and then I got a little more creative that would involve more of my community on Facebook.  I asked them to like and share my most recent drawing.  To be honest I really just thought I would get around 5 shares!  Within minutes I had my set goal!  A lot of the credit goes to my amazing friends who were will to help me out and share my work with their friends.  plus most were so generous as to put in a good word for me.

I was overwhelmed with the response I got.  My goal was 5 share I got 56 share by the end of the third day!  That means I reached over 14,000 people that were able to view my work! (My math skills are very poor but I did use a calculator)  I'm learning a lot in becoming an illustrator.  One thing I learned form this experiment is I have a lot of people who have my back. 

This week for my friends on Facebook I did a free giveaway!

Free Giveaway! Nows your chance to win a custom illustration of your choice! This means you can have one of your favorite people illustrated! The look will be in the style of "The Whistler" All you have to do is:

Friend me on Face book!

Like my drawing of "The Whistler" before August 20, '13
And
Share my drawing of "The Whistler" before August 20, '13

This is a $50 value on my Etsy site! http://www.etsy.com/shop/illustrationbrooke
One winner will be picked at random and will be announced August 21st!

Good Luck!

Just a Tip.

A few weeks ago I had a one on one with Artis Jake Parker.  He is an extremely wise and talented individual.  He gave me lots of good advice.  He explained to me that I had been shading my work all wrong.  I had been using grey and black tones to describe my shadows.  This was making my work look dirty.  Instead I need to be using blues and purples, that ways shadows will look just alive and bright.  (Tip use multiply if working in Painter or Photo Shop). 

With this drawing I use a lot of a traditional drawing technique.

Enjoy.

Astrid

This painting of my was inspired by Dream works movie "How to Train Your Dragon 2"  Which is coming out next year and I can't wait. 

I don't have a whole lot to say about this painting except for it was one of those I just had to push though to complete. 

Enjoy