Pure

For those struggling to be pure in body, mind and spirit.
"Blessed are the clean in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8)

Inspired by the art nouveau style. I am not sure why this is appearing darker than it actually is.

-Dee

Hat Shop

It's been a while since I've posted. Using what free time I had from a long day at work, I decided to sketch over old drawings of mine. This one was inspired by Howl's Movie Castle (hat shop scene) and was drawn in 2009. The new version took an hour to sketch and reflects more of how I've been feeling for the past few weeks...uninspired...but not today! Obviously. I am happy with what I drew up, especially with her body language being easier to understand versus an awkward pose.

Thanks for viewing.

Until next time...

-Dee

Spring Fairy

It finally feeling like Spring! Quick sketch. Opencanvas .5.5.

Young Artist

Here's an illustration I did just for practice with children's book illustrations. The original was done on paper with pencil and Copic markers. I'm an amateur when it comes to makers, I just ended up smudging everything which I'm sure happened because I didn't ink the drawing. One day I'll be great at using markers but for now I'll stick to digital medium...or maybe both like in this case. Critiques are always welcome!

-Dee

Family Caricatures

I found this looking through my old works and I remember meaning to post this after I drew it a year ago. I figured that it would be best to practice making caricatures of my family members. I hardly used references. This was a good practice but I know I need to work more on exaggeration.

Enjoy!

Gift of Life

This is an illustration dedicated to my mom, Eu. It's still a work in progress but I'm really proud of how this turned out, especially with how I painted her face. In case you're wondering, the baby is me! <3 p="">

Catching Air Sketch

So, I asked my sister to give me an image off the top of her head and she gave me this snowboarder making a jump. I like to test my ability in sketching on command without reference. I was pretty damn close to an actual photo that I looked up afterwards, but had to adjust her right arm. This is a quick paint, about 3 hours. It's not perfect with the board in an odd perspective. Done in OpenCanvas 5. I love the colors which my sister helped me pick out for the jacket and hair. I had fun with this one and it's fitting for the weather!

Enjoy!

Messenger

One of my resolutions for this year is to complete my portfolio and start working on my own website. So far, so good. I am trying to be as productive as possible during my free time. I know there was a lot that I promised in my previous posts about new artwork but I've decided to focus on works that I started last year. This piece is one of them. Done initially in Photoshop CS4 and will be completed in Open Canvas. I love fantasy and I'm a true believer of guardian angels, which makes this one of my favorite illustrations. I plan on having fun with the background on this one, filled with little creatures (the closeup is a preview). I am happy to say that I am almost finished with this! The final, of course, will be posted on my future website. Thanks for viewing and I look forward to comments/critiques.

Edit: After a lot of thought, I've decided to exclude my angel character and create a new image with her. My sister and I agreed that she looked out of place while looking at the image as a whole. I have great ideas for the illustration I will place her in! 

Enjoy.

Dog Fishing

So...the program that I used to create this piece, is OpenCanvas. It was the very first program I experimented with 10 years ago and you can check out my old portfolio on DeviantArt that I started in 2004. I don't know why I didn't think to use it again because it's just so awesome! I was fixated on using the more well known and more expensive software when this one works just as well. It doesn't have a lot of effects, tools and options as does Photoshop and Painter, however, having less means I can be a little more creative with colors and technique. Not to say that there's not a lot you can do with it because you absolutely can! The unique thing about OpenCanvas is that I could save my work as an event and playback my progress. Plus, I was always a fan of the watercolor brush. Opencanvas has definitely improved a lot since I've used in 2004 and has the same feel that I'm used to. The price is what seals the deal at $59 versus having to spend hundreds or thousands. I'd say this a good program to start with and build a portfolio.

Enough about that. It's been a crazy week but I still manage to work little by little on my art. A lot needs to be done with this piece especially with its composition. I like my work but it's always the composition that gets to me. I wonder...what can I do to make this better? All comments are welcome.

Enjoy.

Rainbow

Here is the sad truth: I love this program (Corel Painter X3) but my computer cannot handle it. This is the trial version and I am trying to save up to buy it! I would have to get a new video card to run this baby too, but, it's not my main priority right now. I am going to try to learn this program as much as I can in the time that I have with it. My other trial for Sketchbook Pro 6 has run out and I'm pretty much painting on trial software in the meantime. I guess I should start showing you my actual sketchbook with pencil drawings which are a lot more fun to look at in my opinion. As for this piece, it's titled "Rainbow" as you can see, unfortunately, the only rainbow you'll get to see is on the color palette. My computer will explode if I work on this even further. Until next time!

Enjoy!

Gravity

Inspired by the movie "Gravity" directed by Alfonso Cuaron and starring Sandra Bullock. I love everything about this movie! It's a must see. Anyway, this is not an actual scene but it's close. Obviously, there is a lot that needs to be done here especially with the background. Looking at it now, I may have to use perspective on her body and make it look as if she were floating in space. So far, this is just a quick sketch and setup of color (which is looking pretty bland right now). All comments are welcome! Enjoy.

Self-Portrait

Hi there! This is my first digital cartooned self portrait. I didn't use any references and I made myself look better than I actually look. Ha. It's been a long time since I've posted something. I've been going through a lot in my life and this drawing shows pretty much how I've been feeling lately. This shows me dwelling in the past but you'll see me in my next self portrait as a new person. It will be a little more creative, bold and brighter. I learned a lot this past year and I am happier now than I was back then. Since today is my birthday, I look at it as a new year/chapter in my life. My mom was a huge inspiration for me this past year and she has helped me see life in a new way. There will be a lot of drawings dedicated to her coming up. I really miss this, drawing and all. This time, it will reflect a lot of my emotions. I look forward to this new year!

Also, the program that I'm trying out is Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro. So far, I like the simplicity of it. It does lack in options with brushes and there are no crazy effects or adjustments I can make on color but that's the point. It's mainly for sketching but this sort of forces me to try harder with colors. Haha.

Please check-in or follow me so you'd get an update on my posts. Critiques are welcomed.

Thanks.

Enjoy!

Troublemaker

Hey all! Working on some new pieces. I know it's not much but it's in sketch phase at the moment. I'm trying to capture more dynamic movement and play with angles. Keep checking in for more updates!

Lurve,

Dee

Update on Dragon Lady

I swear I created this before I knew about Game of Thrones! I am very happy with the way this looks now (As you may know by now, I'm hardly ever satisfied with my work). No, really, I'm finally satisfied with how this looks. I scaled the dragon to look larger which makes a lot of sense proportionally and I wanted to create a connection between the lady and dragon. I am making progress but there's more work that needs to be done. It's been a year since I posted the original but I've been working on this in batches. Now that I have more free time, I can finally get my work completed. I hope you all enjoy this!

Thanks,

Dee Marie

The Uninvited Guest - Progress

Here is another update. I am slowly working on my illustrations day by day. This on is actually one of my favorites and I kind of want to make it a surprise so I'm only showing a little bit of it.

Let me know what you think! I would appreciate any comments. Thank you.

Fountain update

Hey all. I think this is self explanatory. Basically, I didn't feel like the man's face in the old version looked scared enough. I'm still working on it though, having problems with his lips. Little by little I'll get all of these done. I was working on this before work. It's going to be a while but I'm hoping by the end of the year I'll get all my illustrations completed.

Edit: Update on 1/3/2014

Dragon Lady update

Happy New Year Everyone!

Here's an update on Dragon Lady. The older version had heavy pink tones on her skin which I hadn't noticed until looking at other computer screens. I changed a lot but I am definitely happy with the outcome. I don't think I have to work on her face anymore and now it's time to get down to the details.

It is hard finding the time to work on these with my new job and planning a wedding. I am hoping to finish everything in this blog by the end of the year. That is my goal!

Inverse Sea Nymph

Hey everyone! This is an inverse version of my recent illustration. I was playing around with filters and I think this looks awesome! Anyway, this was for a re-do contest on old works of art on DeviantArt which I missed. The old version can be found on my DeviantArt account titled "Sea Nymph", you can check it out at: http://hunter-x.deviantart.com. I had a lot of fun with this one. Again, it's a work in progress.

Vamp vs vamp

It's October! I started working on this last month and decided to post it this month only because it had that October Halloween feel. The initial drawing had a indoor background but since I wanted to play more with lighting these days, I decided to place her in the moonlight. However, I had the most difficulty on deciding what to do with the background, so I'm not quite sure this one makes sense. One more thing I would like to do with this drawing is add more texture her surroundings. It's been a month since I've posted but I had a lot going on in September. I hope I can continue to update this blog. Keep checking in! Enjoy.

Preview

Upcoming drawing preview. I'm still working on new works of art during my free time. Please check in for more!