Digital portrait study and speed up video

 Here is may realistic digital study portrait, drew with Manga Studio 5x. I wanted to keep it within a one hour frame, but still went 5 minutes over. This was a great exercise to do and it was fun to learn a bit about how the program works and what I can do with it.

For reference, I used Rembrandt's Portrait of Haesje van Cleyburgh. There are many issues glaring back at me in terms of resemblance, but I am happy with what I have accomplished with the program so far.


Here is the speed up video, enjoy!!

Growing in the imperfection

I have been having a hard time giving value and recognizing my quick and experimental sketches as something important and worth showing. Just because they don't fit the mental image I have of how I wanted it, doesn't mean they are not good. Nor the fact that I was just experimenting and playing around and things didn't work out as I thought they would.

Warm ups for figure drawing

 

 

Every little sketch, word, musical note, sculpture that is created, regardless of our opinion on it been successful or not, is worth something. It mark a step closer to our goal, to the final product, to something maybe even better than the first image we have of it in our heads.

Hand studies

  

That is the reason why I decided to start counting the faces I am making or struggling to make as part of the 29 faces challenge, regardless of how much they represent or not my best skills and art. This is not easy, I feel raw, exposed and vulnerable. Why? Because I want to show you my best, I want my art to touch you in the best way possible. And it is with that thought in mind that I am showing you the not so perfect, because I want to inspire you to practice and keep moving forward regardless what your art is; I want to grow in this artistic endeavor with you.

Faces #16 & #17 (Distress and Tombow watercolor markers)

Face #18 (Inktense blocks on Stillman & Bin Beta Series Sketchbook)

Face #19 (art journal page in progress)

Face #20 (Study for future painting)

Not everything is perfect, we are not perfect, but there is beauty in the imperfect and the possibility to grow. Looking at how we progresses in our respective arts is very rewarding and fill us we pride and even more motivation to continue honing our skills and craft.

Markers and more markers!!

The 29 faces challenge is almost over and I am still trying to catch up. This is a goal I set for myself, so I am really trying to finish all 29 faces, even if it is after the challenge ends. As with all of the other faces, I have been experimenting and practicing with a variety of media.

Face #14 is another alcohol marker (Copic markers) on Copic marker paper, this time, as you can see, with inked lines.

I have always admire those beautiful line and marker illustrations, so I decided to stop postponing it for a later time and start practicing. I am way far from where I want to be, however I am feeling more inspire to continue practicing and see how much I can improve. 

Face#15, the same approach as with face #4.

Here I tried to get a better blending. I really like how the face came out. It is fun and challenging at the same time, such an unforgiving but also liberating media. 

Playing with acrylic grounds and mediums

Here are my faces #7 and #8. I fell behind and now I am trying to catch up. Still experimenting with my supplies.

Face #7 was done in acrylics over a red canvas fabric treated with clear gesso. I used Liquitex Slow-Dri Blending gel. I like how it helps me blend better, but I am still playing with the medium/paint ratio. I have some tackiness due to too much medium.

In the case of #8 I used acrylic grounds for pastel by Golden. It can be use with any drawing media plus they say also acrylics and oil. I did found difficult and almost impossible to erase the graphite from this, however it provided a nice texture to the smooth paper I have there.

"Prayer": face 6 of 29 faces challenge

Here is my face #6, titled "Prayer". I prepared the paper with two thin coats of clear gesso. I was going to do it in color but then decided to go for a grey monochromatic color scheme. I think I worked great because the hearts from the paper stand out a bit and direct the eye to her. Plus the blueish undertone of the paint symbolized the "feeling blue" sentiment. When I feel blue I pray and then I am back to color.

Hands are always a challenge for me, and at first I wasn't sure to add it or not, but it was asking for it. It didn't feel finish nor did it conveyed the emotion and story I wanted. So I decided to add it. Not the best hand, but it does help to make the picture complete.

Face #5 29 Faces challenge

For this one I decided to try a set of CretacoloR oil based colored pencils. It is a very limited color set as you can see, but I have had it for a few years and never use it. So I decided to give it a try. 

They smudged a bit and stained my hand, specifically the black one. However I think they might be good to use with watercolors, because I will not loose my sketch lines and it might provide a nice look. I guess I will be experimenting with them again. 

I tried to see if the white would look white on top of the others but it mostly blended and lightened the other colors, so I don't have the lightest lights in this one. But I think that my witch came out okay. I am having fun trying to create different expressions and perspectives. It has been a good practice. 

Face #4 29 faces challenge

Today was a busy day but things got accomplished. Falling asleep every now and then I mange to draw my fourth face. I lost the gesture I was looking for and since my challenge today was to sketch with markers first, I couldn't erase. I din't want to give up on her, so I just pushed it and ended up learning a few things.

I used alcohol markers, colored pencils and gel pens on Copic paper. I glued it in my journal.

Patterned paper as inspiration

My new schetchbook/art journal for the 29 Faces 2016 challenge have prove to be a great idea. The patterned paper have been a source of inspiration at different stages of the drawing/painting process. Although this is only the second face, my sketchbook have provided me direction, inspiration and freedom.

Since I first saw the paper used for this face, I knew I wanted to draw a male. Because the paper is tick and textured, and was already stretched/glued to the chipboard page, I decided to dive right in with acrylic paint without preparing it with gesso. I did a light sketch of the face first, then I decided to use a limited number of colors as part of a challenge and experimenting process. The colors were, scarlet red, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue and unbleached titanium white. From there I mixed all my colors, adjusting with the unbleached titanium white.

In the middle of the process I realized that the paper was looking like the sea and no more like blue painted wood. That motivated me even more and filled me with excitement about this page. I only added a little blue around him to make it a bit darker and make him part of the page a little bit more naturally. 

Once again, I have tones of fun experimenting here. The paper hold up beautifully and I starting to feel motivated, inspired and fearless about experimenting again. 

What are you doing to keep yourself motivated and inspired? Are you been fearless in your art or craft?

And the journey starts!!! First face for 29 Faces challenge

Hello everyone, even though I woke up sick today I manage to make my first face for the Feabruary 2016 #29 Faces challenge.

 I used Polychromos and white gel pen. I am glad that I made my journal the way I did (check video below). It did work for me to be fearless and just start drawing. I did wanted to put some gesso on the paper but since I wasn't feeling well I just went straight to drawing. At first I was like, "oh this is going no where", "it is not nice" and all that blah blah blah. However, since I wasn't afraid of messing up the page I stuck at it and the final result, to me, is not that bad. However, the experience of the moment is well worth it. It showed me that if I keep moving forward I can accomplish something good. So I will keep pushing forward, and I know that not all of them are going to be successful, but I also know that I will learn something from the experience so at the end I will have success. Remember, it all depends on how you look at the half glass of water, do you see the empty space or the filled one?

Finding inspiration and motivation to be creative

Hello everyone. Have it has happen to you that you have no motivation or inspiration to craft and do art? I has had happen to me, and lots of times. So I have look for different ways to keep myself motivated; for example taking classes of my interest over the web, search YouTube for inspirational videos, re-visit my previous creations and looking for challenges where I can find motivation and inspiration.

Now, I now that taking classes require some investment (time and money wise) that cannot be afford all the time, at least I can't. That leaves me with the other options, which are free! This past few weeks have been weird for me; I kind of want to do something crafty and artistic but had no motivation or inspiration at all. Then I saw the 29 facces on September challenge on Ayala Art, Mixed Media Paintings, ACEOS  blog and saw the light at the end of the tunnel ;).

The great thing about this kind of challenge is that other people are with you on it, it cost you no money and you can invest the time you want/can to. Also, they are great sources of inspiration and motivation, as well as, a great way to keep you practicing and improving your skills.

So here I am, with my first face for the 29 faces challenge; I know I'm 4 days "behind" schedule but it doesn't worries me. Why? Because I can create more than one face a day, they don't have to be a master piece or even a completed project. For me any face doodling counts as I am practicing techniques and improving my skills.

Here is a sketch I made in my handmade pocket sketch book, just for the fun of it and to practice some pencil blending using Gamsol (I'm new at it ;)).

So go ahead and find your source of inspiration and motivation, whether it is a class, challenge or video; don't stop yourself, hop on the adventure and  have fun.

Art journal page: Dragon's chivalry

Created on my altered journal, this page spread took a couple of days, just because I only had the girl sketched but did not know what else to do. Suddenly the other day I got the inspiration, and this lovely dragon came to life; my second dragon ever. 

For the dragon scales I used Distress crackle paint; then used soft pastels to color it. The girls was color with prismacolor pencils, spectrum noir alcohol markers, and Faber-Castell Pitt artist pens. For the suggested flower forest, I used Distress ink, acrylic paint and soft pastels.

Dragon's chivalry, as I have called this art journal  page, has given life to the idea of making a challenge for the month of July, based on fantasy creatures. I want to try to create a fantasy creature every day. Right now I'm off by one, but it is okay; I can't wait to see what other magical creatures will come to life.

Holly Mary Journal Page

by: L. Rios all copyright reserved 2012

A page from my Moleskine portrait journal, I loved and thoroughly enjoyed the process for this one. It took me more than one day but I don't regret it. This is the first time I used light modeling paste on any of my journals; I put it around the head and borders of the other page, to give texture and dimension. The modeling paste take some time to dry, so I just left it overnight to make sure it was dry before applying the blue paint. Also, added extra modeling paste after applying the acrylic paint and while it was wet. I did that, in order to create different tonalities. The face was made with Prismacolor pencils over a coat of clear gesso. Acrylic paint and ink were used on the rest of the pages; three-dimensional stickers complete the image. Writing on the right is a prayer to Jesus' mother, Mary.

The soft look of her eyes and the young and pure look of her face made me think of Virgin Mary, so I wrote down a beautiful prayer on the other page. This is one of my favorites pages; it is calming to look at her eyes, plus I can't stop touching all the textures on this pages.

Playing with alcohol markers

"Lola" by L. Rios all copyrights reserved

Finally, I decided to be brave and try out alcohol markers. All thanks to Jane Davenport's class Supplies Me, it is a lovely class where she shows how to use almost every art supply out there. Since I new that we were going to learn how to use alcohol markers, I went crazy and bought a few (not really, I bought lots). My collection of markers is mainly composed of Promarkers, followed by the new kid in the block, the Spectrum Noir (very affordable); and last but not least a few (very few) Copics.

For the Copics, due to the fact that they are so expensive, I just bought a couple of skin tones. The Promarkers I have in a wide range of colors and also in skin tones. I also got the Spectrum Noirs in skin tones, but also earthy tones, cool and warm grey tone. So, yes I did expend a lot in a spam of 5 months, trying to get a sample of every alcohol marker I could. For the sake of clarifying, the Supplies Me class does not required you to have all the alcohol markers that are out there; it was my own decision to get at least a sample of most of them.

Alcohol markers are very blend-able, and all the brands mentioned above works together very well. As you can see on the portrait I made and called "Lola", they blend pretty good. Please, keep in mind this is the first time I play with them for real, so it is not flawless but not too bad either. It wasn't totally easy, and it took some time to get the feeling of it and start learning how the markers behave on the paper, and how they interact with each other. Coloring with alcohol markers, requires patience and time if you want to get decent results at the beginning of this journey. I realize how different the coloring technique is, in comparison to colored pencils (like Prismacolors). The building up of the shadows is quite different that what I am use to with the Prismacolors. Lola's face, arms and hair were colored with alcohol markers; while the background and dress were colored with watercolors and distress stain, respectively on Canson Fanboy paper. This shows, how alcohol markers are also a great addition to your mixed media supplies.

The process for making "Lola" was fun and instructive; and I will definitely keep practicing coloring with alcohol markers and use them more often on my mixed media journaling. Will you give it a try?