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.