Chuckles of Pain

Moving to a New Blog

2011-05-22T23:21:00.001-04:00

The bad news is: that I'm probably not going to be using this blog anymore(as you may have noticed that I have not posted anything in over a year.) But the good news is: that I've made a whole new blog! This one's for whatever random art I do for fun(so mostly character designs) and you can check it out here.

The Queen

2010-02-24T12:53:00.003-05:00

I'm taking life drawing again this semester and Caitlin and Alison are both in my class. To make the homework more exciting we have decided to model for each other with costumes and props. The assignment was to draw a figure partially obscured in some sort of transparent drapery. Thanks to Alison for posing this week.22in x 30in, charcoal

Ariel

2010-02-12T02:20:00.002-05:00

It was too much fun to stop doing Disney fanart. Drawing Ariel, however, was a lot harder than drawing Jasmine or Mulan. Her eyes are huge, but even harder to work with her pupils are also gigantic. The first couple times I did her eyes her ended up with this drugged out expression which was not what I was going for. Also I foolishly tried to give her first an yellow and then a pink backgound, but everyone knows Ariel MUST go with a blue background. Things went a lot smoother after that.

Still Life

2010-02-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

More photoshop class stuff. I think I'll have a final image due every week for that class till the end of the semester. This week the assignment was to do a still life. I found it easier to work from life in photoshop than it was to do the previous illustration. There is no guess work in figuring out a color palette that works together when the answer is sitting right in fount of you.

White Witch Red Witch

2010-02-10T17:53:00.001-05:00

Assignment from my photoshop class. The project was to do something vs. something, and it could be anything we wanted. Since I wanted to focus on process I decided to work with subject matter I was already familiar with: pretty girls in magic forest. I found that finishing a piece with an actual background in photoshop was a lot more difficult than the portraits I had done previously. I used a comibination of scanned watercolors for the background and digial painting for the figures. I'm not sure about the results, but I think that this technique had a lot of potential.

Digital Self Portrait

2010-02-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

First assignment for Advanced Photoshop Techniques class. I actually did this piece before the Disney stuff. It was the first time I had ever tired to digital paint. I learned a lot doing it once I got past the "this looks terrible stage"(which took a while.) I should really do another one since I know it would go a lot easier the second time around.

Disney Fun

2010-01-31T00:09:00.000-05:00

School's started again. But even more fun than doing homework is drawing Disney fan art. I drew Jasmine cause this week's prompt is Disney Princesses and made me want to do a whole bunch more fan art. So next I drew Mulan since she's awesome. Another exciting thing is that they're in photoshop which I've just started attempting to use for final images. For Mulan I sketched the whole image digitally for the first time. I like the result cause that makes it easier to paint on top of but I'm pretty slow at it. Must practice more.

Prince Ucay

2009-12-22T09:14:00.000-05:00

Another piece from my Illustrated Book Project. This actually the first final image I got done. It's from the 2nd and 3rd pages of the book and would be a 2 page spread. This is also the first time the prince is pictured. The text would go on the left side between the tree roots. 12in x 18in, watercolor, gouache.

Also now it's winter break, so more updates after Christmas

Evil Witch

2009-12-09T14:39:00.001-05:00

Piece from my illustrated book project. This is the first page where you see the witch Minga-Yang. Minga-Yang carries evil spells and potions on her back so that she can spread disease wherever she goes. 9.5in x 12in watercolor, gouache.

Prompt # 2

2009-12-02T00:25:00.001-05:00

The second prompt. Inspiration is here. Watercolor, gouache 8.5in x 11in

The Monkey Prince and the Witch

2009-11-20T23:37:00.000-05:00

Part of my big project for Illustrated Book. I'm doing a children's book based on the fairy tale from Philippines. The story is about a prince who can talk to animals and an evil witch who transforms him into a monkey. These are my first ideas for the designs for the prince and the witch. I also have a color piece that is very, nearly, almost done. So more to come soon.

Prompts, Again

2009-11-15T02:05:00.001-05:00

So my friends and I have decided to do prompts again. This time we'll be posting them to a separate blog, which is here. This week's prompt was to go to lookbook and create an piece inspired by an image. 4in x 10in, watercolor, gouache.

The Third Floor Bedroom

2009-11-05T13:51:00.001-05:00

So I have sort of been failing at posting regularly, but hopefully I will change that soon. This is my second assignment for Illustrated Book. I actually got this assignment a while ago, but I wanted to touch up a few things before posting. We each given a title and a caption of a stories from the book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg. Mine was the Third Floor Bedroom with the caption: it all began when someone left the window open. So I decided to go flying fish ship things. Watercolor, 8.5 x 14in

Hades and Persephone

2009-09-28T00:17:00.000-04:00

Another piece from my Illustrative Print class. I'm finally getting around to taking pictures of my work from the end of last semester. This is my first attempt at a two color print. I had a lot of trouble with the registration and made a bunch of copies, most of them screwed up. I really like the look of multiple colors, but they are super annoying to print. The subject matter is the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone seen here in the underworld next to a pomegranate tree relief block print,12 x 18in.

Maleficent Monarchs Manufacturing Macaroons

2009-09-23T18:40:00.001-04:00

First post of senior year! Now that I'm back in school I should be posting more regularly. This is my first assignment for my Illustrated Book. We had to come up with a 4 word phrase that used alteration to illustrate. 10.5 x13.5in, watercolor and gouache.

Wizarding Ware

2009-03-11T22:17:00.001-04:00

For Lifestyles. We were each assigned an upcoming film and told to create an image of a femal model that draws inspiration from the movie. I got Harry Potter 6.The illustration is of that creepy Inferi-filled lake Harry and Dumbledore cross to get the Horcrux. The clothing is all from current designers. 9in x 12in, watercolor and gouache

Guns, Gloves, & Gems

2009-02-21T21:53:00.000-05:00

This was an in class assignment for Lifestyles from a few weeks ago. We were given the words guns, gloves, and gems and told to draw something. In my picture: The space amazon, in her bejeweled bikini, rides her winged laser-lion(also the lion has a unicorn horn). 9 x 12in, pencil.

Feather Island

2009-02-15T22:25:00.001-05:00

First assignment for Concepts II. It's an illustration of this place called Feather Island, where all the inhabitants are women and the upper class women have feathers instead of hair. Watercolor, gouache, 16.5 x 20in.

Wild Swans Again

2009-02-14T11:56:00.000-05:00

Second go at the wild swans story for Illustrative Print. This time I used a bigger block and printed it using the press instead of by hand. The cutting got a lot easier the more I did it. Relief block print, 12 x 18in.

Museum Gala

2009-02-08T20:19:00.000-05:00

First assignment for my Lifestyle class which is a fashion illustration course. The assignment was to choose a location and find existing designer clothes that draw inspiration from the place. I chose the Museum of Natural History and looked at Jean Paul Gaultier's couture collections for the past five years. Having the four illustrations due at the same time was a challenge, but I'm pretty happy with the results. Watercolor, ink, 8 x 13in

Wild Swans

2009-01-30T16:34:00.001-05:00

This is my first attempt at relief block printing. I like the different textures you can get but if you mess up when cutting you can't really fix it. It's an illustration of the wild swans story. I'm doing the same scene again for the next assignment but this time bigger. Relief block print, 9 x 12in.

Life Drawing Final

2009-01-27T00:07:00.000-05:00

Made my sisters dress up and pose for me. Also from the end of last semester. Chalk pastel, 22 x 30in.

Wet Media Stuff

2009-01-26T00:19:00.000-05:00

My goal for this semester is not to totally forget about this blog when finals come around. Here are the last few projects from Wet Media Kitchen.Watercolor one week assignment. I used salt in ground and gouache for the outlines. The creature is a centaur. 12 x 14in, watercolor and gouache.Final project. Same technique as the centaur piece. It's a wrap around cover for a book of fairytales. 18 x 25in, watercolor and gouache

Phoenix

2008-11-11T16:51:00.001-05:00

For Wet Media Kitchen. We have started using gouache, which I don't have much experience with. Sometimes I'm not sure what I'm doing when I paint with gouache, but I'm liking it. The creature in a phoenix: magical, long-lived bird, reborn from fire etc. 9in x 13in, gouache

Prompt: Pet

2008-11-10T00:47:00.000-05:00

Alison's choice of prompt this week. Looks like finally did a prompt that wasn't a pretty lady. But I'm sure I'll get back to that next week since it is my choice. Here is a little girl and her giant magical whatever-it-is. 5in x 7in, gouache, ink

Illustration Concepts

2008-11-07T20:20:00.001-05:00

So I got a little behind on posting stuff, but I am determined to get back on track. Here are two pieces from my illustration concepts class.

First: illustration for a book cover of the short story collection Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link. This scene is from the story Flying Lessons. 13in x 17in, watercolor.

Next: Poster for the Fall of the House of Usher by Poe. 11in x 17in, gauche and ink.

Kirin

2008-10-18T12:26:00.001-04:00

From Wet Media Kitchen. The background is done with xerox transfers using a photo of trees on top and in the bottom one of fish which you can't really make out. The creature is a kirin(or qilin or Chinese unicorn): body of a giraffe, scales of a fish, antlers of a deer. 11 x 14in, acrylics.

Zoopsia

2008-10-13T23:44:00.000-04:00

Assignment for my Illustration Concepts class. We were supposed to illustrate a word. The word I ended up choosing was zoopsia, which is a visual hallucination of animals. 11.5 x 17in, watercolor, ink

Prompt: Pin Up

2008-10-11T22:36:00.000-04:00

Hitomi's choice of prompt this week and the theme was pin-ups. I had lots of fun drawing this girl in her extremely practical astronaut outfit. I also got to use my new ink in my favorite color: magenta. 9 x 12in, ink

Swan Maiden

2008-10-07T16:59:00.001-04:00

For Wet Media Kitchen. This week we used something called the fugitive ink technique, which is where you paint the surface with ink first, then gesso over it, and then paint you image on top. The ink is supposed to bleed through and tint your picture, but it didn't seem to be doing anything to my painting. My teacher did say that sometimes it takes a while to show up, so maybe if I wait a week all my colors will be screwed up. The subject is a swan maiden: women who could shape shift into a swan when wearing a swan skin garment. 11 x 14in, acrylic

Prompt: Steampunk

2008-10-05T14:10:00.001-04:00

For this week's prompt Caitlin's chose steampunk. I had a really fun time doing it, since I got to add a whole bunch of crazy details and not worry if they made sense or not. I haven't done steam punk before, but I like the style. I want to do more. I also want to color this piece but I am incredibly busy this week so maybe some other time. 9 x 12in, ink

Roc

2008-10-01T23:58:00.000-04:00

Another piece for Wet Media Kitchen using the sanding technique. This time we had to let the different layers dry naturally instead of using a blow dryer. The creature is a roc: a gigantic bird of Persian mythology. 11 x 14in, acrylic

Manticore

2008-09-30T10:44:00.000-04:00

For my Wet Media Kitchen theme. Were using this technique were you build up a bunch of layers of paint and then sand them down for the background. The creature is a manticore: body of a lion, head of a man, tale of a scorpion. 11 x 14in, acrylic

Prompt: Military Uniform

2008-09-28T20:58:00.000-04:00

My friends and I are taking turns to think of a different prompt to illustrate each week. The first week was my choice of military uniforms. 9 x 12 in, ink

Super Team Up!!!

2008-09-26T23:41:00.000-04:00

Character Development homework. The assignment was to draw three to five characters working to accomplish some activity. I was inspired by the old pulp science fiction covers. Also I had been looking for an excuse to draw a dinosaur and the space suits were fun to design too. Overall it was rather fun to draw. Inking it at three in the morning, however, was less enjoyable. 14 x 17 in, sumi ink

Griffin

2008-09-23T13:50:00.001-04:00

Second homework assignment for Wet Media Kitchen. This time using matte medium and some collage elements. My interpretation of a griffin: half bird, half lion creature.

Hippocampus

2008-09-21T10:22:00.000-04:00

First homework piece for Wet Media Kitchen. We had to pick a theme for all of our homework pieces to follow. My theme is hybrid animals. So every week I chose a mythological creature and paint my own version of it. This one is a hippocampus: a half horse half fish creature. My first time working with gloss medium which I rather like because you get to build up lots of layers. Plus it makes everything shiny! 11 x 14 in Acrylics

Marika is actually going to update her blog as she does work this year. And she really means it.

2008-09-20T10:20:00.000-04:00

First character development assignment: draw a character playing an instrument. 11 x 14 in Watercolor and ink.

The Hot Dog Tap Danced Under the Bridge with a Troll

2008-04-21T01:14:00.000-04:00

For my illustration II class. 11''x13'' Watercolor.We played the exquisite corpse game but with words in order to make up sentences to illustrate. Other choices included: That chocolaty goodness fornicated with flowers in Times Square. Sexy Lexy dug through underwear drawers in the Meyerhoff Private Dinning room. and Johnathan Taylor Thomas contemplated life's meaning over the rainbow. to name a few.

Let There Be Light

2008-04-01T00:15:00.000-04:00

My other favorite pieces from my Let There Be Light Class. Mostly because I already have good photos of them on my computer. All there were done in chalk pastels. The first piece is me dressed up as a fortune teller(because I'm the easiest model to get). I used my light box for the table. Thanks to Caitlin for providing most of the other props since I was running out of interesting objects to draw in my own room. 30x48in
In class work. The model was supposed to pretend to be murdered. 22x30in
A self portrait in costume. 20x30in

This the first drawing I did for that class that the teacher actually liked. We had a model lying in front of a Buddha statue outside. 24x36in

Circle Collage

2008-04-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

The in class work from my last collage class. We were allowed to do anything we wanted as long as it in some way involves collage. Not sure it's quite done, I had to rush a bit at the end because we were putting our work up on the wall.

The Explorer

2008-03-23T19:10:00.000-04:00

Fall semester 2007 30x40 chalk pastels. I got(by which I mean forced) my younger sister to pose for me. We scavenged my house for all the clothes and props for the set up.