Forgot to post this commission I did back in December for a friend. It was a request of a Subaru 360 for a commemoration party. It wasn’t ultimately used for the event, but it was an interesting challenge considering I don’t draw vehicles enough. I spent some time the month prior trying to understand its form before I hopped to it. It’s still rough, but it was fun to draw.
Last July, we went to Hawaii for our friends’ wedding and then stayed the week to celebrate my birthday. My sister, who lives in Honolulu, is an amazing hostess and planned a very memorable birthday for me. We hiked up Diamond Head where the park stamp my sketchbook with the “Summit Finisher” stamp. I didn’t finish the sketch of Diamond Head Crater until yesterday (shame on me) though, using reference I photographed while we hiked there.
The 2nd drawing is of Lanikai beach which I did sketch on my birthday. It’s of the mokes (2 islands) and the little reef inbetween where we snorkeled.
The 3rd drawing was drawn at Waimanalo Beach where my husband and I spent the whole day. My sister recommended it as it was quiet and located in a small neighborhood. I saw 2 boats in the sand and thought it would be a fun challenge. The real the challenge, however, was the humidity that made both inking and watercoloring difficult.
The 4th drawing was at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. I learned so much about pineapples. I especially had no idea how they looked out in the wild or the fact there were so many kinds.
We recently moved to a new office and my desk is now next to the window. The first day working there, I saw this really cute, brightly colored looking sparrow-type bird. According to the Internet, it’s a ruby crowned kinglet. The more I look at this drawing, tho, maybe it was a different bird…
The day after Christmas, my family and I went to NYC to watch the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. The Rockettes are great and all, but I was completely mesmerized by the dancing Santas. I loved how hefty yet agile they were with their little boots and round bellies.
While we were watching, I whipped out my Galaxy Note 5 and did some quick gestures during their dance number with the Action Memo app + my stylus. (We were allowed to use our phones in the theater as long as there wasn’t flash.)
They’re pretty crude, but it was enough to flesh out later when I returned to WA. I pulled out my phone again to look at those gestures and with some quick photo reference of the clothing, I was able to make the final sketch with watercolor. The poses with the red arrows are the ones I used for that sketch.
I continue to be amazed by the Note 5. I love that I can take visual notes/gestures and use those to further explore an idea or use later for a character without feeling obligated to make it look true-to-life. I’m learning that it’s more important to capture what you want of the pose, whatever you find appealing to you, as opposed to being 100% accurate. It took me so long to understand this concept of extrapolation from the Schoolism gesture drawing class I took awhile back, but it’s finally starting to click.
Last lunch sketch of the year! Karl sent me a link about bearded vultures, and I couldn’t help but draw them. Love how fiery and dinosaur-like they look.
My dog in a Christmas sweater 😀
Fox and Mole enjoying a cup of tea
Some owl studies from a week ago. Unsurprisingly, my starter in Pokemon Sun is Rowlet. 😀
“I have built a treehouse
I have built a treehouse
Nobody can see us
‘Cause it’s a you and me house”
Behold! The Pomeranian Supreme!