Sketch Dailies

Hello my friends! It has been quite some time, hasn't it?

The first thing you might notice is the name change! I'm starting to use the moniker Staceart more and more often, and figured it is time to apply it to this blog. I am looking to use this blog again, while Tumblr and other social media is nice, I quite like having a place that I can show process shots and write more in depth about my work. I will also be using this blog for write-ups on different art related events I attend.

This year I've started to post my work on two new platforms: Instagram and my own Facebook Page! Instagram focuses more on my sketches and other traditional work, while Facebook features a little bit of everything from all the sites I use. Please follow both if you can!

Onto the art... There are also some other projects in the works, which I'll post more about in the future. For now though, I've been participating when I can in a great daily activity called Sketch Dailies and here are the entries I've drawn inspired by the daily topics from earlier this year.

Black Bird

Billy the Kid

Honey Badger

Robin Hood

Mermaid

Baba Yaga

Unicorn

Goblin

Valkyrie

Gremlins

I've really fallen behind on keeping up with the topics but Seeing these all together make me realize how fun it is to challenge myself and my process. I'll be sure to make more time for future topics and post them here on my blog!

Just Keep Swimming

Ahh hello everybody, sorry again for another unexpected hiatus. Hard to believe it's August and it's almost already over wah!

Basically what happened was I fell into a depression, one of those that sneak up on you and after a while you get used to it unfortunately. It's sad when you don't realize you're even depressed, it just becomes a black hole of numbness. I unintentionally pushed away many of my friends and family without realizing it. It wasn't until I was in danger of losing my relationship that I finally noticed something is wrong with my current lifestyle and it needs to change. One of those steps is to start posting here again and to be more open about what's going on in my life!

Anyways, I made myself an art schedule but I have a hard time keeping up with it. I focus too much on the short term things that make me happy instead of the long term. I want to work on changing that, especially since I need to get a job. I have no savings right now and it scares me that if something happens to me or my car that I would go into debt. Right now I'm looking for a new day job since my hand is feeling better but eventually I would like to replace that with either a studio job or freelance. I am even thinking about relearning 3D since it would be nice to do something else for a job and still keep my art personal.

In the meantime, I will continue working on my studies and also continue finishing work (still my biggest struggle after all these years!).

Alright, here are some pieces from the past few months, just really experimenting with my process. Next week I'll put aside more time to scan some sketchbook drawings and also some current pieces in progress.

Nepsey the Harvester of Light

Golly, it sure has been a while since my last post - let alone, a finished painting! I'm working on changing that.

Here is my latest painting of my friend's character Nepsey,  a mermaid who brings light down to the depths of the ocean.

Here are some in progress shots I saved while working on it.

Alright, onto the next!

Confession Time

Alright guys, I have a pretty big confession to make.

I am... addicted to Neopets.

I used to play all the time when I was younger. In fact, it was meeting other young artists on the site that really hooked me onto pursuing art as a career. I would constantly draw my pets and write stories about them, it was great.

I took a hiatus when I was in college because I felt I out grew it. When I was under going physical therapy, I got back into it to keep me busy. Then when I was able to start drawing again, I began drawing my pets and other person's pets, and now I'm having fun painting them.

I was really embarrassed about this fact for the longest time because my feelings about fanart are conflicting. Especially with Neopets, I found a process in Photoshop that helps me pump out pictures pretty fast and I felt like I was being a half-ass.

The few friends who I've confided about this addiction with have all said the same thing - art is art. Even fanart still has the word art in it.

Plus, I'm having so much fun and am learning a lot from these pictures.

Here are some of my favorites, a mixture of my own pets and others.

Phew, that felt good to get off my chest. Bouncing between this fanart and also gift art has kept me busy, I hope to get a few more posts in before the new year!

Also, my blog has broken over 10,000 pageviews. Thank you everyone!  

Self Portrait Day 2012

Gosh this year is flying by! Today is International Self Portrait Day.

I originally wanted to keep it in the same time frame as the one I did last year, but decided to just keep going to finish it.

Moth Girl

What started off as a quick noodling around turned into a painting for the weekend! I was inspired by a moth photo I stumbled onto online and the idea just took off from there.

Moth Girl
Adobe Photoshop cs 5

Here is a process image!

EDIT: Just made some quick changes! Here's the update. 

FDD: 3 & 4

Gah, I forget how busy weekends can be. It's a nice change of pace but I then usually get really anxious to get back to art!

I forgot to post up my piece from yesterday for the daily draw challenge. And today, I really had to rest my wrist so I spent most of it in bed, watching Parks and Recreation. It's feeling better so I did complete a still life study and started a new little piece for my tough girls series.

So, big art post, yay! :D

 My still life was a sandwich! Such a challenging thing to paint but I learned a lot doing it. Unfortunately, it looks better in the picture than it did at the end of this still life... Food tends to go bad. And stink.

Process pics:

Grabbed some boba at the artwalk yesterday, and proceeded to draw people in the area. I love doing this, especially in pen! 

 My next gal, going to attempt to do photoshop this time around. It'll be a fun experience!

30 Day Challenge: Day 6

Somewhat lazy day, I hope you don't mind if I post the studies I did this past week. :D

I have a small notebook that I call my "studybook" so I don't clog my sketchbook too much. The paper is nice for water color as well! Here are some entries:

Top left: "Precision" drawings from life (pencil)
Top right: Gestures from photos (ballpoint)
Bottom left: Value gestures from photos (pencil)
Bottom right: Color face studies (watercolor)

Row 1: Perspective study from life
Row 2: Perspective study from life and value study from life
Row 3: Perspective practice from imagination

Sketchy Saturday: Last of '11

Hard to believe this year has already come and gone! What started off as a year of struggle and strife turned into a year of reward and art. I'm completely passionate about art again and cannot wait to see what I come up with the next year. I already have some projects planned, but it's the unexpected that keeps me going.

My next year resolutions are short, simple, and sweet:
1) Less thinking, more doing.
2) Create more.
3) Take more pictures.

Otherwise, here are some sketches and experimental paintings - the last of the year!

Happy new year! :) Onward to 2012!

Slumber

You guys may have noticed bits and pieces of this work in the latest post. I'm happy to finally be able to show the full and complete version. I've been working on and off on it for way too long, just glad that I'll be able to include it in my portfolio.

He's one of my oldest characters, a dream guardian, sleeping in the vast snowy land of dreams. You'll be seeing more of him (not like you're already seeing all of him, haha).

View on: CGHub or Deviantart as well

Some process images.