Sketch A Day 206

Sabinah will have to rest for a while. Not only do I need to write a back story for her, I really need to do some moneymaking gig. We all need a little extra source to get through this life. But that doesn't mean she'll be gone for long. She's really a support character for Chicken Wings, one of my own stories.

Sketch A Day 205

These blog posts may have to take a step back.

Because I'm doing this:

which, may take most of my time when I'm here at home.

Excited of this project because:

1. I get to do what I've always wanted - a complete portrait of a character.

2. This will have to be finished in color and effects.

3. I'm a sucker for elementals. With nice looking buns.

Sketch A Day 204

Somehow, the feathers on her hat goes well with the Gypsy-inspired cloak and robe. I think this will be her look. Early on I decided to have the character in a motherly body, not the slim, model type, to have some bounce and feel to it. Besides, humor and magic go hand in hand.

Now the real work is about to begin . . . 

Sketch A Day 203

Some more details are going to have to be added before I proceed with refining the lines, along with searching for the right references with jewelry, clothing, etc.

Drawing and illustrating is a constant learning process, at least for me. I often need my details to be from real things. A car needs to look look like a car, not just a box with wheels. The first Sketch A day series was just me getting the hang of using a tablet and the brush presets with Photoshop. This time, it's really the grunt work, nit-picking details,  anatomical liberties, shadows and all those things an artist considers before getting down with the final phase.

Sketch A Day 202

Some clothing catalogue can be very handy for reference with sketching the clothes. And then there's the environment to think of, the stuff she throws around, and boy am I so into this right now, my CD player is set up to play Joe Satriani's music to get me going.

Sketch A Day 201

Looks like the ol' mojo is back. Let's see what this turns out.

Made some adjustments with my tablet. Before, I attached it to a piece of rubber mat, but a friend pointed out the pen is hard to control. My fault, I was thinking of having something to absorb shock. So I took the rubber bottom out, and taped it to my table, where I do stuff. It does feel more responsive now.

See? Old dogs can learn from young ones. Thanks to Paul Bernardo for that piece of observation.