New arrivals

I've actually been drawing a lot more lately but I'd forgotten to upload onto this. This month has been very busy (friends of the family and my manager at work having a baby). I thought it would be nice to draw something inspired by this.

It didn't take me too long but I wanted to give something to a family friend that just gave birth. I really like the watercolour brush in Photoshop so I've not been experimenting with many other brushes lately. It was quite fun to draw though.

Hoteru

I wanted to create a drawing loosely based off one of my favourite films "Hotarubi no Mori e". I changed the character quite a bit but I wanted to create the same sadness the main character has throughout the film. Not spoiling anymore for you though!

This was probably one of the longest drawings I've done in a long time. I wasn't happy with the colours so I kept editing them, A LOT! I kept making the colours too bright when it's supposed to be a night scene. Then I made the hoteru (firefly) light too bright which cancelled out the sadness. Basically I had to tone it down a lot! I'm quite happy with the final result though. I really like the watercolour brush. I love the effect it gives.

Bored at work

I've been ill lately so haven't been able to update anything. I'm back at work but there's not too much for me to do. This picture sums up my day...

It's just a quick drawing. There's a lot I could improve but I didn't have much time. It's a little weird going back to drawing after a break...

More inspiration from Japan

Last month I went back to Japan. It's amazing how inspired someone can be just from a place they love! I've been learning the language for a while but I didn't realise just how much I loved it until I went back. I really had the best time there! So I wanted to create something that showed a little of what I love.

I went during sakura season and saw some beautiful sakura/girls in kimonos. It has to be my favourite season to visit! I've already drawn a girl in a kimono but I wanted to draw something slightly more mature, kind of to signify how much I've grown since my last drawing. I brought back the watercolour technique for shading and experimented with a few new brushes. I could probably work more on the colours but I'm very happy about this drawing. I can see so much progress since I first started using Photoshop!

It's been a while

I have had serious artblock lately, which is why I haven't updated this in a long time. To the point where I start many drawings but get so frustrated that I don't enjoy it and give up. I've got so many drawings which I started but will probably never finish.

I ordered an artbook for one of my favourite digital artists (Liosh) and it motivated me to at least try again. I actually finished it this time!

I'm very pleased with what I managed to draw. I've had this idea in my head for a few years now and never managed to be able to draw it. I'm not a dancer and I've rarely came across pictures of people dancing so I found the pose very difficult to imagine. It was only through stubbornness that I managed to find one as reference! I'm a lot slower than I used to be but I put more attention into detail than before. Always a silver lining. I'm just a little out of practice so hopefully if I draw more then I'll get faster again.

It's also my first time attempting any sort of clear, swirling material. Actually it was a bit of trial an error, I wasn't expecting it to turn out so well. I found it very fun though so I would like to use it again!

So busy!

Sorry I haven't been able to update anything lately. Work is getting a lot busier so I'm finding it a lot harder to make time for drawing. I doubt I'll keep this "drawing every week" thing going. Perhaps one a month is more realistic now. Unless I suddenly get an urge (and find some time) to draw a lot more. At least it's something though!

I was asked to draw a modern day Studio Ghibli character so of course I went with Princess Mononoke. I always felt that she would never feel comfortable in the bright city lights. I liked experimenting with this drawing. I used a lot of lighting, a lot of colours and I tried to stylise the background a bit to emphasise the fast moving backdrop. I'm still not sure how I feel about the final piece though. I think I managed to portray what I wanted but I still feel like something's missing.

Ah well. Onto the next drawing!

Birthday Present

It was my sister's birthday at the weekend so I've been busy creating a money box for her. Now she has no reason not to save!

I'm quite proud of this. I need a lot more work learning how to paint properly but I think I did an alright job of it. My sister was really happy so it's nice having my artwork appreciated. I can now finally get back to digital drawing!

Watch Maker

I thought I'd try something a little different. For ages I've had the image of an old watch maker in my head but never figured out how to draw it. After a lot of experimenting and frustration with colours I've finally created something I'm proud of.

I really enjoyed this concept. It's very different from my usual style so it was interesting trying something new. The colours were frustrating to get right (I'm not used to this colour palette) but I got there in the end. I think I'll experiment more from now on. It's definitely a nice break from my usual drawings.

My latest project

I've been so busy with work and studying that I haven't had much time to update things. I've been planning a trip to Japan with some friends and I thought I'd get myself a money box to help motivate me to save. I've collected a lot of £2 coins so having a money box purely for Japan has helped me save a little.

I spent a long time trying to find one that I liked. I eventually gave up and bought a blank box thinking that I could decorate it however I wanted. My reasoning was that if I covered it with things I love from Japan that no matter what mood I'm in, this will always cheer me up and remind me of something I love.

This turned out much better than I thought it would. I really liked experimenting with the watercolour effect so I think I'll practice that a bit more from now on.

Kamisama

I've barely been drawing lately...studying has taken up all of my free time. I couldn't sleep last night so I sat doodling and eventually came up with this. I've been researching a lot about Japanese gods and mythology so I wanted to create something inspired by this. I could never get it right when I was doing a full body shot so I attempted this.

I'm quite happy with this. I want to colour this when I find my graphics tablet pen (I somehow lost it). I'm considering doing a watercolour painting of this since I've not done one of those in a while. I've just started on a mini project, not saying what it is yet but I may go back to this drawing when the project is finished.

It's been a while!

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been busy with work/learning Japanese so I haven't had time to draw lately. Plus it's been hectic after my birthday so I haven't even had a day free in weeks! I finally got some time to relax so I thought I'd draw a picture.

I'm actually so pleased with this. At first I was just messing around with textures and sketching jellyfish and somehow it turned into this. My friend Lilia's been drawing jellyfish too and Laura went to an aquarium in Japan so I've had a lot of influences for this one. I really liked experimenting with the colours and drawing a new animal. They're a lot more fun to draw than I thought!

Hopefully I'll be able to draw more. I've got another competition with Laura coming up so I should be able to update this soon!

I'm back from Serbia!

It's been a while since I've last drawn so it's just a quick character sketch. I was browsing deviantart and came across a hair style and it gave me the idea for this character. It was nice drawing this as it's not my usual character style. I'm really out of habit and I'm not completely satisfied with the colours. At least I'm getting practice though!

Another competition

I took my time with this drawing so there wasn't enough of an update to post last week. 

I did another drawing competition with my friend Laura. I think I lot could be improved (mainly the colours and the pose) but I think I managed to portray a scerene scene well. I'm also very please with my Sakura! 

Also, this is the picture Laura drew for me. I love it so much!

I'm in Serbia again

I've been in Serbia for the past week and a half so I haven't been able to draw at all. I've been busy with my Japanese lessons, meeting friends and sightseeing. Hopefully I'll be able to post more when I get back next weekend. Here's a quick sketch I did since I forgot to post!

It's supposed to be someone kneeling asking for forgiveness. As I said, it's a really quick sketch so it may not be completely accurate. 

I completely forgot to upload last week! I've been a bit busy studying Japanese so I haven't had much time to draw lately. Here's a drawing I managed to complete when I was bored of studying.

I really like this drawing. I had no idea what I was doing and just randomly sketched something. I think it turned out quite well considering! I'm really pleased with the colours and proportions. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can draw next.

In work we had a Star Wars themed "expo". I had been asked to help collect ideas and decorate the stall. It then inspired me to do a couple of Star Wars sketches. No prizes for whoever guesses who the characters are :P.

They didn't take me too long. They were only supposed to be quick sketches in my breaks. I definitely think my proportions and colouring are getting a lot better so I'm quite happy with this.

Hopefully I'll have more for next week. I'm still trying to draw the snowy forest picture but it's taking so long! I think I put a bit too much detail in it :/.

Progress!

I'm uploading this before I forget. It's an actual progress post!

So anyone remember this? It's the drawing I started in October and ended up leaving. I decided to go back to it and it's taking me forever. I actually ended up tweaking it a lot. It's made me quite impressed with my improvement. Still got a long way to go but it's getting there!

There's always light!

You might have read this before, but I recently went through a few months of depression. I have a lot of friends going through the same situation and thought I'd draw a picture based off it.

I didn't want it to be too dark, so I added a lot more colour than I probably should have. I wanted to show that there's always "light" and "dark" sides to every situation. I think the colours could have more work but I'm quite pleased with the finished result. It's better than I was expecting!

Let it go...

Last week it was a very special birthday. The daughter in our Serbian family had her birthday so I thought I'd draw her a quick picture since she loves my art so much.

It's not bad considering it's a really quick drawing. I think I'm getting a lot better with hair, especially when it's supposed to look messy. Plus my colours are way better than before! I actually looked back on previous work and realised that they weren't very colourful compared to my drawings now. I'm quite glad that I've improved my colours! So can anyone guess who Andrea's favourite character is?

Rooftop Prince

I'm going to be a bit early this week! I've recently started watching a Korean drama called "Rooftop Prince" and it inspired me to draw. I didn't realise how different asian cultures were (forgive me for being a big ignorant). I love how vibrant and colourful Korean clothes are so I wanted to create a drawing showing this.

This was actually a big challenge for me. It seemed simple enough but who knew colours could be this tricky! I didn't even look up reference for a pose this time! I'm really happy with the finished result.

I think I might experiment more with traditional styled clothing since I find it really fun to research and draw. It'll give me an excuse to find out about new cultures!