Writing 5(blog posts) for Crit 4

At critique 3 I ended up showing the two images I posted last time, plus getting color feedback on two more that I didn't. I received a lot of positive feedback on them and a few suggestions. One of them was that I should try to push the story of my work farther, like giving the little girl a ferocious, rearing, monstrosity rather than the stoic horse-dragon. While I'm going to keep that piece as-is, I'll definitely try to push myself more in future pieces.

In the aftermath of my senior art exhibit, I haven't been doing much work (the few weeks before it were so insanely busy, I feel pretty burnt out). However, I need to start working on fanart for the two conventions I'll be doing this year. I've also got the 4th and final critique this week.

I have been doing some work since the show that I've found fun. I took the look and feel of old 50's Pinup girls and applied it to traditional fantasy races (Elves, dwarves, Drow, etc.). I also love clothing from that era. Right now I've got 2 versions of a Mermaid. I'm keeping their physical form fantastical, but basing the clothing on fashions of that era.

Two artists that I'm really looking to for inspiration are Gil Elvgren, and Duane Bryers. I love classic Pinup girls, because for the most part they are sexy, but still retain a certain amount of class that I really like. I'm also going to push myself and try to do them lineless and more painterly, to better mimic Mr. Elvgren's style. I'd also like to incorporate the humor of Bryers's work in some of my pieces, as well.

Here are some of Duane Bryers's works:

 

Here is some of Gil Elvgren's work:

 

 

As for my classmates, another whose work I'd like to highlight is Emily Westhoff. She paints a lot of pastoral scenery, and loves to depict the wide open spaces of midwestern prairies:



http://emilyrosepainting.blogspot.com/

Writing 4(blog posts)for Crit 3

Last critique went pretty well. I got a lot of positive feedback on my eight comic pages, along with some suggestions for reference materials to look at. My next critique is coming up on Friday, and I'm rushing to get things ready. I've got two pieces to show so far, and I'd like to get two more done. Here are the two I finished recently:

 

This one shows a character of mine named Samhain that I haven't drawn for awhile. Recently I've been going back and reworking his story to be more suited to an adult audience. Samhain has a being inhabiting him called either "Black Ether" or "Azrael" and it gives him powers over death. He helps the recently deceased cross over in his dreams.

 

This is the second piece I finished. Originally I drew this with no particular character in mind, but then my boyfriend pointed out how the little girl reminded him of one of our Pathfinder characters' daughters. So I made the little girl into her and I really like how it came out. She has a talent for bringing home unusual creatures. :)

Here's one of my classmate's blogs. She's also a commercial art student and has recently been doing a lot with photography and drawing. Check out her work here:

https://rebekahmparrish.wordpress.com/

Writing 6 (blog posts) Artist Lecture

Yesterday I went to Ariel Bowman's artist talk. Ever since seeing her art I'd been curious as to how she made it. Here is some of her work:

 

Out of all of the pieces displayed in Porter Hall right now, my favorite is this one:

 I like how precariously balanced the elephants are. Also the fact that they're different species of ancient elephant is very cool.

For her lecture, Ms. Bowman used a projector and powerpoint presentation. Not only did she show pictures of her finished work, but she showed in-progress shots that explained how she made her art. She also included pictures of people whose work had inspired her, which I hadn't thought of doing but might consider for my final lecture.