Marianne's Journal of Fantasy Art

Figure Drawing From My Mind 2

2012-01-26T22:35:00.000-08:00

This is how the figure can be simplified seen from the front, back and side.
I had a lot of problems drawing a figure seen from the side without and photo reference, but now I totally understand how to add balance to a figure seen from the side. The leg joint has to be on the front side of the pelvis and not in the middle of the pelvis when seen from the side.

©Marianne mathiasen 2012

Drawing The Figure From My Mind 1

2012-01-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

This is my first day trying to understand the basic structure of the male anatomy. I know this looks simple, but I actually never gave much thought to the fact that the elbows are situated just above the navel. I always thought the elbows was on a level with the navel. I also learnt that I can draw a "V" from the navel and through the nipples to decide the wide of the shoulders.

©Marianne Mathiasen 2012

The Structure of Man

2012-01-23T23:01:00.000-08:00

http://www.alienthink.com/

I sold a painting before Christmas and decide to spend some of the money on a series of video tutorials crated by Riven Phoenix about figure drawing from your mind. I got 189 videos to watch and learn from, and I will devote the next six months working through the tutorials. I will upload my work here and on. http://fantasyartstudy.ning.com

Last weekend I attended the EMG Sketch Fest 23. These are the sketches I submitted.

©Marianne Mathiasen 2012

Figure Drawing Study Group Assignment 1

2012-01-20T11:19:00.001-08:00

This is my drawings for the first week of figure drawing. We work with the book Figure Drawing For All It's Worth by Andrew Loomis. you can download the book as pdf at: http://alexhays.com/loomis/

I though it was amusing to see how I could construct a fat man.

©Marianne Mathiasen 2012

Sketch Fest #22

2012-01-12T03:07:00.000-08:00

I have been very busy the last week setting up assignments for the Figure Drawing Study Groups I have started at: http://fantasyartstudy.ning.com
This is the sketches I did for the Sketch Fest I attended last weekend! You can join the monthly Sketch Fest at:
http://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com/sketchfest/

©Marianne Mathiasen 2012

Perspective Drawing, Total Beginner

2012-01-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

We will cover one, two, and three-point perspective. How to find the horizon lines when you draw on location or how to find it on a reference photo. We will do assignments that will show how you can use perspective drawing in a creative way to improve your fantasy art. This is basic knowledge if you want to do fantasy art, because especially with this kind of art you will need to work out what things look like when seen from all sorts of angles.perspective drawing. Improve your fantasy art, take it from flat to 3D! Six weeks, from 2012-03-04 until 2012-04-15

Join a Fantasy Art Study Group!

2012-01-08T05:20:00.000-08:00

We will cover one, two, and three-point perspective. How to find the horizon lines when you draw on location or how to find it on areference photo. We will do assignments that will show how you can use perspective drawing in a creative way to improve your fantasyart. This is basic knowledge if you want to do fantasy art, because especially with this kind of art you will need to work out what thingslook like when seen from all sorts of angles. Sign up

Join a Fantasy Art Study Group. This spring we are working with figure drawing. We use the public domain E-book Figure Drawing For All It's Worth, that you can download for free. The idea is that you should be able to learn to draw the human figure in your own home. The study groups are free to join! Sign up

Drawing Hands, Arms, Legs and Feet Study Group

2012-01-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

February 25, 2012 to April 7, 2012

Drawing Hands, Arms, Legs and Feet Study Group

One assignment weekly.

This study group will work for six weeks.
We will study how to draw hands, arms,
legs and feet, and try to understand the anatomy.
We will draw adult and child hands,
and study what happens when the hands age.
The last week we will work on some ideas
for drawing fantasy hands and feet.

Sign up

Visit Fantasy Art Study

Dragon Update 2

2012-01-01T22:49:00.000-08:00

I gave the dragon new wings, but now I will let it rest and start a new dragon, with a better anatomy. I will keep the plate armour and colours, add a female character and a background.

Comparing my dragon to the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton made it obvious to me that I need to give the dragon a better balance point!

©Marianne Mathiasen 2012

Dragon Update

2011-12-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

I am still working on this dragon. I had some help from my friends on Fantasy and Sci Fi Artists Support, and this is what I have come up with so fair. I think the wings need to be larger! The dragon is partly built on horse and raptor anatomy.

Beside painting dragons I am enjoying my holidays with a new book I had for Christmas with illustrations by Arthur Rackham.

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Dragon Fire

2011-12-29T11:48:00.000-08:00

I spend the holiday painting dragons. I haven't done that many dragons jet, so I am still learning. Painting fire is also something I am new at, so this has been quite a challenged.

Baboon Dragon

I am still working on this one.

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Poses Figure Playing The Violin

2011-12-22T02:45:00.000-08:00

I haven't been drawing much of the last few weeks, with Christmas coming up and all, but today I did 5 poses for a fairy playing the violin. I think I will do a few more sketches before I deiced on which pose to choose.

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Snow Angel

2011-12-19T23:33:00.000-08:00

Snow Angel photo from 2009

Merry Xmas

Marianne

Fantasy Art Study

2011-12-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

I have been busy starting a new forum for the upcoming Fantasy Art Study Groups.

Each week we will do a drawing exercise based on the free E-book by Andrew Loomis titled: Figure Drawing for All It's Worth.
We will upload our exercises to a closed group at: http://fantasyartstudy.ning.com
We will discuss how we can improve our drawings.
The study groups will be a safe environment for people to study figure drawing at home. There will be strict rules about how to give a critique in the group! Artists all levels are welcome! You have to be age 18 to join, as there might be nude drawings shown in the group. The group will be closed for new members on the 2012-01-15! So please join now!

There is no payment of any sort to join the group!
Each study group will have a maximum of 10 members!

Visit Fantasy Art Study

New Forum

2011-12-12T01:59:00.001-08:00

I have created a new forum for the figure art study project at: http://fantasyartstudy.ning.com
Feel free to join!

Figure Drawing Study Group 2012

2011-12-11T03:48:00.001-08:00

I am going to start a figure drawing study group for fantasy artists on the 2012-01-15.

The study group will work from the free E-book by Andrew Loomis titled: Figure Drawing for All It's Worth. We will work through the book, and do some exercises, to improve our figure drawing skills.

My idea is to gather people who really want to improve their drawing skills. The group will work in the following way:

Each week we will do a drawing exercise based on the book.
We will upload the exercise to a closed group at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/109781479138907/
We will discuss how we can improve our drawings.
The study group will be a safe environment for people to study figure drawing at home.
There will be strict rules about how to give a critique in the group, so that no one will get any hurtful remarks!
Artists all levels are welcome!
You have to be age 18 to join, as there might be nude drawings shown in the group.
When the group reaches 20 members it will be closed for new members.
The group will be closed for new members on the 2012-01-15! So join now!
There is no payment of any sort to join the group!

So why should you join?
Being able to draw the human figure is the foundation of many fantasy characters so it is worth taking the time learning how to draw the human figure properly! Getting into a good habit of drawing on a regular base is importuned if you would like to improve your drawing skills! By joining this study group you will have people supporting you every day of the year! Taking part of an art study group will not only improve your drawing skills, but you will also get to know other artists who are just as devoted to art as yourself!

To join the group please go to http://www.facebook.com/groups/109781479138907/

Marianne

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Yule Gnome

2011-12-05T05:47:00.001-08:00

I draw a Yule gnome every year, and this year I was inspired by the Vikings. The Danish Yule celebration is much older than Christmas, and most Danes love the old traditions. The Yule gnome has been worshiped since the time of the Vikings. In Denmark, we celebrate Yule or Christmas on the 24th. Of December, because it is closer to the Solstice than the 25 th. Danes have adopted many German and English Christmas traditions, but Santa Clause will never be as popular as our own Danish Yule Gnomes. Danish Children believe that the Yule Gnome brings them gifts, and they will provide the gnomes with sweet and food to attract them to their house.

Sketch Fest #21

2011-12-04T00:11:00.001-08:00

Gothic Christmas

These are the sketches I did for Sketch Fest #21

I worked with my markers on water color paper. I worked on each sketch for 15-30 minuets, and some of them I finished digital. I think I came up with some nice ideas I can use in my paintings later. I tried to work with perspective from my imagination. For some reason, I find it much easier to do perspective drawings when I draw on location or from a reference photo. When I just have to sketch it without any reference the buildings get scattered all over the paper, and I have a hard time sticking to the grid. The drawing of the Stem Punk machine, has gone wrong perspective vice, but I love the colours, and some of the details in the drawing.

I would love to hear how you deal with perspective drawings!
Do you work from a reference photo or do you simply draw a grid and sketch from your imagination?
Do you know any good tutorials on this subject matter?

A Snow Flake Ride

Steam Punk Snow Flake Machine

Ice Castle

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Male Fantasy Character Library

2011-11-20T22:51:00.001-08:00

In this post I will gather my male fantasy portraits, so that I will end up with a library of characters I can use in my paintings.

Hobgobling 2011

Roman Profile 2011

Oriental Guard 2011

Elf 2011

Oriental Prince 2011

Medieval Prince 2011

Viking Gnome 2011

Hobgobling 2010

Giant 2010

2010

Giant 2010

Vampire 2010

Prince 2009

Giant 2010

Gnome 2010

Trader 2010

Faun 2011

Man In The Dark 2011

Evil Santa 2011

Elf 2011

2011

Santa 2011

Gnome 2011

Yule Gnome 2011

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Male Fantasy Portraits

2011-11-20T11:54:00.001-08:00

Portrait done from my imagination.

I am not very good ad drawing male characters, but I am a bit tired of always drawing females, so I have been sketching men and turning them into fantasy characters.

The portraits are all quick sketches. I did them in 5-10 min. The idea is to develop a sketch book gallery of male portraits that I can use in my painting whenever I need a new face.

Some portrait was done on-location others are done from my imagination to see how well I can manage to draw a male portrait and keep the proportions right.

Sketched done at a train station

Sketched from my imagination.

Playing with light.

The same idea but tuned into evil Santa.

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

My Own Art Gallery

2011-11-19T12:47:00.001-08:00

This year I had a new studio where I can paint, and next year I am thrilled to tell that I will open my own art gallery. My husband is restoring this room, where the gallery will be located.

As you can see there is still a lot of work to do, but I will keep you updated on this project from time to time. I have not set a date for the opening jet, but I guess it will be in the spring 2012.

©Marianne Mathiasen 2012

Plantie's Lovely Mouse Pad

2011-11-17T00:13:00.001-08:00

I am the lucky winner of Plantie's beautiful mouse pad. I wanted to show you how lovely it looks on my desk. Please visit Plantie's Zazzle shop where you will find the most enchanting gifts for Christmas!

You can also read her blog about her art at plantiebee.blogspot.com

Thanks Plantie Bee :)

Get Your Art On Print

2011-11-15T22:48:00.001-08:00

Printed in Fae magazine 2010

As a new budding artist it might be a good idea to find a small niche like paper dolls to work with. There are many magazines, which print paper dolls and other types of paper toys. The best way to get your art on print, is to send some of your drawings to various newspaper and magazine editors.

If you commence to draw for a magazine, it is important that you know what size of art the magazine needs. Most magazines want digital files at least 300 dpi. Some magazines needs to get the original drawing. Others just want you to scan your drawings yourself.

Most magazines have a fixed rate per page you draw, but the amount you are paid can vary a lot.

As a new artist, you can try to send your artworks to some of the small local newspapers, and club or craft magazines. Remember there are magazines and news papers printed all over the world, so try to do a Google search to find some magazine you might like to work for.

Before you send your artworks to a magazine, you need to make sure that your drawings are printable, otherwise the magazine will reject your drawings. You might want to ink your drawings with a black line unless you are very good at creating artworks with strong printable values. Digital images are in generally easier to make printable! Be careful if you work in watercolour and coloured pencils, these two mediums can be difficult to reproduce on print. Markers, acrylic paint, and Couach colours work a lot better.

Printed in Fae magazine 2010
©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

My Christmas Wish List

2011-11-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

The family is starting to ask for my Christmas wish list, and they may well rejoice for it is long and filled with books about fantasy art.

Jean-BaptisteMonge is a French artist I have admired for a long time, so his books with gnomes and the like are on top of my wish list.

Another French artist, one can not escape is, Olivier Ledroit. He is probably best known for having designed the Black Moon Chronicles.

Here in the West we often forget that there are amazing artists in other parts of the world. One of those I love most is the Russian artist Anton Lomaev, who has illustrated many of Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tales.

Books with illustrations of the Swedish artist John Bauer is also on the list!

If you want to collect books on fantasy art, the Spectrum books are a good way to start a collection. The Spectrum books publish a new book every year.Spectrum 1 has an illustration of another of my favorite illustrators James Gurney on the cover.

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Vintage book I found

2011-11-08T11:07:00.000-08:00

This is a vintage book I found. The illustrations were crated by a Danish artist called Ib Spang Olsen. The book is from 1968 and the title in English would be; When The Light Went Out. The book is about a Danish Gnome of cause!

As a child my teacher used to read this book to the class at Christmas.

I love how Ib Spang Olsen works with his pen. All his illustrations are like doodles.

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

My Troll Sketches

2011-11-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

I have been sketching trolls. I think I will devote more of my time to Scandinavian fantasy characters!

I am very fond of this guy!

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Rien Poortvliet's Gnomes

2011-11-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

The festive season is approaching and I will therefore from now until Christmas blog about gnomes.

Gnomes can be found in most Nordic homes, so I would like to know if you have a gnome living in your home! Come and show me your favorite gnome! Send a photo or a drawing of your favorite gnome to marianne@dwain.dk and I will show it in a post later this month.

I will start out by writing about my absolute best book on gnomes. The title of the book is simply Gnomes, and it is written by Wil Huygen and illustrated by Rien Poortvliet ..

What is so funny about this book is that it tells everything about the lifestyle of the gnomes and it also shows their anatomy. Rien Poortvliet is a fantastic illustrator. Most of his illustrations are painted in watercolor, so if you like this medium, there are plenty of inspiration to find here.

Rien Poortvliet was a Dutch illustrator. he lived from 1935 to 1995. He is best known for his gnomes, but many also love all his books on animals.

His animal paintings are absolutely stunning, and it'is his great knowledge of nature that has enabled him to draw and paint the gnomes' world so convincing.

Find the book on amazon.com

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Scandinavian Trolls

2011-10-31T00:54:00.000-07:00

Troll sketch by me

Trolls are some of my favourite Scandinavian characters to draw. In folk tales, they are often described as creatures with a very small brain. In some stories, they eat humans, in other they are just plain daft charters that the humans can tease.

In Old Norse folk tales, trolls are said to dwell in isolated mountains, rocks, and caves, sometimes they live together as families while other lives as solitude. In the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, a female troll is mentioned. Later in the Scandinavian folk tales there are stories about the God Thor fighting trolls by lightning strokes.

J.R.R.Tolkien was properly inspired by the Scandinavian trolls when he wrote his books and created his Orcs character.

There are many kinds of trolls, some are gigantic other rather small, but they all have a short neck, big noses and long arms. Some trolls have very short legs and looks almost like a rock, other might have longer legs and walk like a Chimpanzee or Gorilla.

The troll's anatomy can be built on a monkey's skeleton. Above you see different skeletons that you might find useful.

The features of the trolls can vary. I gave my troll pointy ears, but most Scandinavian artists have drawn their trolls with round monkey ears.

If you are looking for inspiration on how to draw and paint trolls, I have some suggestions here.

Louis Moe's trolls

1857 -1945

John Bauer (1882-1918)

Rien Poortvliet's Trolls

1932-1995

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Fund-Raise for EMG-Zine

2011-10-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Please help fund-raise for EMG-Zine. This free online magazine has been publishing monthly since January, 2005 and is an invaluable resource for artists, writers and crafters in the fantasy and science fiction genre. We have tutorials, walk-throughs, business advice about licensing, contracts ...
Go to the EMG site to join the fun!

Anders Zorn's Limit Palette

2011-10-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

Anders Zorn (18. februar 1860 - 22. august 1920)

Anders Zorn is one of my favourite Scandinavian painters. I love the way this painter worked with a limit pallet, although people in the art world have an ongoing discussing about how limit his pallet actually was set up. Zorn was known for his nude figure paintings of women. I admire the way he mixed his flesh colours. I hope some day to be able to paint with the loose and bold strokes he did.

I would like to try to learn from his painting by copying one of his paintings. I think it might teach me a lot about colour mixing as well as the use of light and shadows, so I'd better go and prime a canvas and get started! I will update you on this project!

His pallet was made up by a few colours. My guess is Ivory Black , Cadmium Red, Yellow Ochre, Titanium and Zinc White and in some of his paintings perhaps Cobalt Blue.

I think this painting is wonderful. You can nearly hear the music! Notice how he has given this painting a feel of movement by blurring the edges of the dancing couples' feet.

The compositions of his paintings are so lovely. The warm red centre of the painting drags your eyes to the focal point of the nude model.

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Colour Synchronization For Prints

2011-10-18T02:46:00.000-07:00

Fairy Necklace

If you tried to buy prints of your art from places like Zazzle or other online printing services, you might have noticed that the colours are dissimilar from you original artworks. To avoid this problem you need to compare the colours you see on your monitor with the colours the printing companies produce.

First of all, you need to make sure that your monitor has been properly calibrated. No matter if you are working digitally, or you have your art scanned it is very importuned how you see the colours on your monitor.

Sadly, there is no easy way to calibrate your monitor without some sort of calibrating device like the Pantone Huey MEU101 Pro.

You can perform some online tests of your monitor, but if you want to make sure that the colours on your monitor will turn out exactly the same way on your prints as they do on your monitor, it's best to use a calibrating device. Most printing services use the Phantone colouring system, and the Pantone Huey MEU101 Pro is the calibrating device that Phantone has developed. It's also one of the cheapest calibrating devices you can get.The price on Amazone is about $ 58.00.

This video shows how the Pantone Huey works!

Not all artists can afford to spend the money on a calibrating device so what is the next-best way to make sure you get the right colours on your prints? As I mentioned before you can do some online colour test of your monitor to make sure your monitor has been set up correctly. Below I have created two links to some good online tests you can try.

Screencheck helps you to see if your screen is set to the correct brightness and color.

Photo Friday will help you to adjust the brightness and contrast of your screen.

When you are sure your monitor has been set up to show the best possible colours, you will need a way to compare the colours you see on the monitor to the colours you will get on the prints you order from your printing service! So how can you do that? Well there is no way to be absolutely sure your prints will come out right, but I found it helpful to create a color chart like the one shown below.

I simply order a print of my colour chart from the printing service I am using. Preferable I order the colour chart on the same kind of paper that I am going to have my artworks printed on.

When I get my colour chart on print, I open the file with my colour chart on my PC, so that I can compare the colour chart on the monitor to the printed version. In that way, I can see if the colours are darker or lighter on the print compared to what it looks like on the monitor. I can also see if the colours are dissimilar in any way.

If the colour chart on the monitor dissimilar the print I can change my monitor to match my colour chart print, in that way, I will get a pretty good idea of how my artworks will turn out on print, because if I open a file with one of my digital or scanned artworks, I will see it almost like it will look on a print. If I find that the colours need to be changed, I can easily do that in Photo Shop.
Some printing services offer a proof print, but normally it isn't for free, so if you just want to make sure the prints of your artworks turns out fairly close to your original artwork this is a cheap way to do it.

I don't have a Pantone Huey myself. It's on my wish list for Christmas!

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

I Know I Can Do Better Than That!

2011-10-10T03:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel that doing my art is like pushing a large rock uphill. I am always struggling to improve, and I never find rest, in what I am capable of doing at the moment. Am I too hard on myself? Should I just quit, because no matter how good I become and how much I learn, there will always be someone better than me, telling me that I need to improve?

It's no secret that I am not twenty anymore, and sometimes I wonder if I ever will master all the stuff I dream of. This weekend turned out to be a new kind of lesson to me! I had three people signing up for me to do a perspective drawing class. I have been struggling with perspective drawing myself, and I really don't think I am the best tutor they could get, but as the class went on, I realized that, perhaps I am not that bad. I actually manage to teach three people how to find the horizon line, vanishing points and to draw one, two and three-point perspective.

As I stood there tutoring I realized that perhaps I need to start to put my skills to use. I actually know how to do it, but I never seem to be able to put all my skill to use in one single painting. I always end up with a painting where I know something could have been improved. What if I decided to work out sketches for a painting that would include all I ever learnt about drawing and painting, would that be possible? I asked my husband what he thought, and he said; Marianne, I don't know anything about painting, but I do know that you know a lot of stuff that you can use in any way you like, so why don't you just get started instead of feeling sorry for yourself!

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Teaching Perspective Drawing

2011-10-04T00:58:00.000-07:00

This weekend I will be teaching perspective drawing for the first time in a long time so I am a bit nervous, but I guess I will be fine when we get started. I am teaching the class in my art studio so I'd better go and clean it up!

The class I am teaching is about basic perspective. I will cover one, two and three-point perspective. I find that teaching art makes me a better artist, because I have to be able to explain the technique to other people in a way that makes it easy for them to understand it, and hereby I get a deeper understanding of the subject myself.

Holbein's The Ambassadors

Skull anamorphosis

In the spring, I plan on an advanced perspective drawing class where I will explain four, five and six-point perspective, and perhaps I will make an exercise about anamorphosis. Anamorphosis is a distorted projection or perspective that requires the viewer of the artwork to stand in a specific point to see the illusion like in Holbein's The Ambassadors. The skull in the foreground will only look right if you stand a little to the right of the painting at the National Gallery, London.

I don't have any online classes, but if you would like me to make one, please contact me at marianne@dwain.dk

©Marianne Mathiasen 2011

Male Costumes, Elf and Fantasy Fair Archen 2011

2011-09-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

I promised to show some of the awesome male costumes from the EFF 2011. Although the theme was vampires, I saw many guys in Steam Punk costumes, some of them even brought vehicles and many of them had created totally cool weapons. I thought it was great to see that the male costume was just as detailed and well done as the female costumes, and I am so glad that I shot plenty of photos to keep as reference!

Steam Punk vehicle.

This guy had a very cool gun!

Another popular theme was zombies, these two flesh eating creature was among my favorites!
Not only were their costumes great, but they also acted out their part very well!

These three zombies walked the fair as a group always yearning for fresh human flesh.

There were many kings, knights and noble men.

I saluted this great Dragon King!

This young knight had created his own plate armor.

Of cause there was a whole village of Hobbits, and I am happy to tell that I greeted Frodo while he was smoking his pipe!

The Most Inspiring Costumes at EFF Archen 2011

2011-09-23T14:51:00.000-07:00

As an artist I found that going to the Elf and Fantasy Fair was like having a dream come true! It isn't every day you get a chance to see so many different costumes gathered in one place at the same time.

The theme of the fair in Archen this year was Vampires. Camilla and I shot a lot of photos of all sorts of vampires, but I think this vampire costume was my favourite! I love the headpiece and the bat wings.

Black was the dominating color or absent of color, but there were also many costumes in red, white and purple. I really have to bring my easel next time, so that I can capture it all in some paintings. Perhaps I can persuade people to have a portrait done LOL.

This was another of my favourite costumes. I think it's great to see all the imagination people put into their costumes. What made this Unicorn princess stand out from all the other beautiful fairies was her unicorn headpiece.

I think this costume was one of the most accomplished costumes.The composition of the colours and the checkerboard pattern is so cool and well done!

There was a wide range of characters, some old, some young, some small, and some tall. I captured this great coat from the bag! I admire people who put a lot of effort into their craft!

The amount of details in some of the costumes was amazing. This Rococo lady had the most exquisite Marie Antoinette hat I have ever seen. The mask made her look mysterious, definitely the queen of the ball!

I will end this post with jet a photo of the mysterious Rococo lady. In my next post, I will take a look at some of the male costumes!

Thanks to all the people who let me take their photo!

Elf and Fantasy Fair, Archen, NL 2011

2011-09-21T02:14:00.000-07:00

Me in my Goth costume with my doll created by Lotus.

I am back from the Elf and Fantasy Fair in Archen, NL. Camilla and I had a fantastic weekend at the fair. The costumes was totally awesome, there were so many cool gowns and masks. I have created a slide show with some of the best photos we took.

There were three scenes with music and all sorts of events. You could learn to dance and there was a costume competition. If you haven't been to this fair, and you plan on going to the fair next year, you will need to spend the whole weekend if you want to see all the events and booths.

The only thing I was a bit disappointed about was the lack of fantasy artists represented there. I only saw postcards and figurines imported from China! There were only a few booths with art and crafts. Although there wasn't much fantasy art to buy, there was so many things to do that I definitely plan on attending the fair next year. I might bring my easel to paint some of the great costumes.

Camilla with one of her fantasy necklaces.

One of the booths sold hand made art journals and elf pencils.

Sketchbook Pages

2011-09-14T04:51:00.000-07:00

To day I just wanted to show two pages from my sketch book.

5 minutes sketches of my dog Mickie.

10 minutes portrait sketch.

My Creative Weekend

2011-09-11T03:20:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely weekend, filled with creativity. I attended the Weekend Challenge as well as the Sketch Fest of the month.

For the weekend challenge I submitted this giant woman wearing a hat with a medieval castle and blue ribbons.

I only managed to submit four sketches for the Sketch Fest #18, but I am wondering if I got the rules right? I spend one hour on each sketch, but I am not sure if I have so spent that much time, so I will have to check up on the rules.

The first sketch I did was for the key words red poisoned apple submitted by my friend Plantie. It was done digitally in PSP.

This was a sketch for the prompt "Fairies Gone Wild" I titled my sketch The Tribe. I think I might redraw this one for a colored version later.

This was for the prompt" The magic Shop" I need to practice my perspective skills, so I picked a prompt where I would add some interesting perspective. This isn't very good. I don't think the stairs are right. If you try to walk down the stairs to the basement, you would properly bang your head into the wall.

The last sketch I did was for the prompt "Spiral Dance" I wanted to show movement and speed in this sketch. I went a bit over board with a new tool I discovered called "saturation up/down" It will add a rainbow / glowing effect to your paintings in PSP.

The Proportions Of The Human Face, Video

2011-09-08T02:53:00.000-07:00

All my portrait and eye studies have resulted in some questions about the proportions of the face from my family and friends, so I decided to create a small tutorial on how to draw the proportions of the human face.

The averaged human face proportions can be drawn into a rectangle that has been divided into six squares. Draw a circle in the four top squares.

The eyes, nose, mouth and eyebrows' lines can be found by subdividing the squares according to the above drawing, but please watch my video to see how I do it easily step by step.

If you watch my video, you will end up with a face somewhat like this. This isn't what I would call a real human face, it is the average human face proportions and nothing more. In most art instructions' books this is all the help you will get on how to draw a portrait! If you try to draw a portrait of someone using a construction like this, you will end up with a portrait that doesn't look like the person you are drawing, because all human's faces are unique. Some people have a long face, other a heart-shaped faces and so on. It's those differences in our proportions that makes it so difficult to draw realistic portraits. However, knowing about the proportions of the average face can show how a face is different from other facial!

Amusing vintage portraits for download!

When drawing a portrait you will also have to be able to capture the facial expressions, that is why it is better to base a portrait drawing on observation and proportions, than only on a schematic proportion!

Cartoon characters are build on geometric shapes to make it easy for the artist to draw them seen from many angles. This is a sketch I did for a doll some time ago. It is drawn so that the face is seen; frontal on, from a side view, and from a 1/3 view. People who draw comics work in the same way.

Fantasy art is in a grey zone between realistic art and comic art, so to be able to do some realistic-looking characters, I figured that learning the best from both worlds would be to my advantage.

The plans of the human head. From the book Drawing the Head and Hands by Adrew Loomis. Can be downloaded for free!

So what do you need to learn to draw realistic fantasy portraits? My conclusion is that you have to get the following skills:

Learn the proportions of the human head/face.
Learn to draw the plans of the head.
Learn to draw the human skull.
Learn to draw by observation.
Learn to see and draw values.

The best book about learning to draw from observation it Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
If you want to know more about the proportion of the human face you can watch my video.Comments and questions are welcome ;D