Art from the mind of... well, Ashley.

[Kella]

Heya peoples. ;D I tend to randomly sketch and such... no guarantees as to the value of the following work, but eh, I have fun.

Here follows is a Sketch I did today. I think Selonians are my new favorite thing to draw. ;D It started as just a concept art for the head, and then I started penciling in proportions, and they actually worked... so yeah, the post is boring, but I wasn't brave enough to give her a saber; hard to render with mechanical pencil. X)

Used a reference pic for the head, (yay otters!) but the rest is my guestimations... X) Mostly getting the feel for Selonian proportions. As I draw more, I'll probably post it. ;D


farm4.static.flickr.com/3320/3485069470_c8fd7daeba.jpg?v=0

((For some reason, the image brackets aren't working with this pic... wierd.))


Hopefully, the image will display properly... X) I've upped the contrast, lowered the brightness, just because I tend to sketch very lightly. ;D

Please please please please tell me what you think! And no need to be nice. I'm looking to improve my drawing, so any suggestions would be great. This is just a sketch, so it's quite rough around the edges, (no muscle shading! A travesty!) but any suggestions are both welcome and encouraged. ;D

[Anackis]

I think it's cute, I likes it.

[Kella]

Much thanks. ^^

Selonians are indeed adorable... X) Gah, I love them. Been sketching 'em all over the past week... even made a chibi version of Sellah (my Selonian), but it's not quite cute enough. Need to work on that.

Hmmm.... I wonder if I'd have any luck attempting to color that in GIMP... *begins to mutter to self* X)

[Kella]

Figured I might as well post some more... X)

I shall start by saying, I love drawing dragons. xD I don't know if anybody likes looking at them, but I like drawing them. I'm not handy with much more than your average little HB pencil, so I don't have anything flashy, but I enjoy myself. X) Thought I might as well post some of my musings via graphite, (and other mediums), if only to get feedback and such. So, without further ado...


Majesty: I liked how the head and chest of this one turned out, but the proportions of the hindquarters aren't quite right...


Craush: My buddy the Maelstrom Elemental. As I imagine him, he's made of a mix of ice and lightning... X) Which doesn't translate to lead well. Go figure.



Blue to be Gryphon: A rare experimentation with several things: Perspective, Stylization, Colored Pencils, Gel pens. I need to mess around like this more often...



Wise One: An old piece, practicing observing and imitating proportions. Based off an illustration from the awesome Dragonology books, though no tracing was involved.



Freya: Another character of mine. HB on Printer-Paper, so I got a bit sharper of a drawing than usual. Not my preferred mode of doing things, but I really like how this one turned out. X) (Despite the wings/shoulders not being quite right...)



Dying Breath: I drew this while watching a special about dragons in Mythology... and about how belief in them is quickly dying. Me thinking about Dying dragons results in ^.



A bit of smooth shading... I like this one. When I originally drew it, it was quite a bit lighter, and the eyes were grayscale. A bit of patience, a midtone darken, and a half hour in Microsoft Paint later, and I had what you see here.



~~~~~


I might post more later, (I've some more cartoon-ish dragons, and a few random sketches), but I think that shall suffice for now... X) But yeah, if you'd like, tell me what you think! I'm always open to suggestions and criticisms and such.

[Kella]

*attempts to lure Otterling in to comment on Kella's various mythical creatures and utter lack of adventure in pose*

*muses* Any comments, really, would be splendid...

And I'm thinkin' on breaking out my pencil again -- haven't in a while. I need to work with sitting poses, reference pics, get some of my new sketches up... *trails off, thinking to self* mreh...

[Otterling]

Hellos!! I promise promise promise I will venture back in here later this morning when I have access to a computer that will let me see the images. Sadly, when I'm on here most of the time, it's from a work computer that has firewalls which block EVERYTHING. I actually can't get to the cbox here which is why you guys never really hear from me.

I will however go get my laptop when I get off work and log back in to check in here. I am happy to offer feedback and advice then. ^___^ *hugs*

[Kella]

Not a worry!

I'm a very patient penguin, and there's not really much exciting to see anyway... whenever you get around to it 's fine with me. X)

[Otterling]

WOOT! Ok, I'm back!

First: the Selonian - EEE!!! It's SOOOOO CUTE! I think you definitely did good with the reference pic. The head is certainly recognizable and very adorable (not that I have a particular fondness for otters or anything.....). Over all, I'd say you did really good with this one. It's never easy to draw digitigrade legs (the ones that fold backwards instead of forward) so I think you did really well. The claws feel a little like they are glued on so maybe try making sure that each toe and finger looks like it's affected by that claw being there. What I mean by this is, look at pics of real paws. There is usually a small indentation where the claw attaches that makes it look seated. This can usually be represented as just a small line to show that the claw is coming from somewhere.

Ok, dragons - YAY!!! I love dragons. I doodle them often but it's been a while since I've been on a good dragon kick. Of all these, I'd say the one that stands out most is the Wise One. I think that's because you had a reference to work from. Don't be discouraged by that though! You can most certainly tell which of my drawings I used refs for too. It helps a lot to have one. That said, think about what dragons are: Big lizards, right? Don't be afraid to go look at lizards for some inspiration and reference. That picture you found on the internet of someone's garden lizard can suddenly turn into a ferocious dragon. All you have to do is use some imagination and adjust the lizard to fit what you want. I've done this a lot and it REALLY helps with claws. Lizards, especially iguanas and the like, have GREAT claws so they are a lot of fun to use for reference.

Another trick you can use is to rough out all your proportions using simple shapes like circles and boxes. Simplify your dragon till he's just geometric shapes connected with some lines for legs, neck and tail. This will let you judge if you got the proportions correct before you go through all that work of fleshing him out. It's easier to erase and re-draw a few simple shapes than it is to go through all that drawing and then erase all your hard work.

Hope that helps some! I think you've got a great and strong start here. Keep going with it and definitely post more!!! I love seeing it.

[Kella]

Sellah: ... I am not adorable.

Yes, you are. Giant space otter automatically = cute.

Sellah: The council would not agree...

I am the council! So ha!

Sellah: ... I'm going to go train.

Have fun with that. Opinionated charries... Anyway, I'm glad you like her! xD My favorite drawings are the ones that kind of evolve along the way... And I certainly see what you mean about the claws. I bet I could get a handle on some picks of otter or weasel claws... much thanks. ;D Though, I think the Selonians are formidable enough to be something between a lion's paw and talons... I dunno. :P But awesome, I'll work with that. ;D

Oh! I love the idea of looking a Iguana claws for reference! Because dragon feet are a -pain- to draw. -_- especially when you want it to be reminiscent of a hand, but still a weight-bearing foot... And Iguanas are especially good for the scareh dragons. ;D And I could probably base the more light-weight variety off a small feline... like a Linx, or some-such...

And if I'm ever drawing anything serious... *shifty eyes* I love starting out with rudimentary shapes. xD -especially- if I'm trying a new pose. Which I like, never do, and I'm usually too lazy to experiment, so maybe that's a moot point... But I usually resort to sketching out the skeleton with something new. Sellah up there started that way. xD I'm not very good at it yet, but I -try- to imagine how everything sits on the skeleton. X) heh.

Now that you mention using lizards as reference... I think I'm going to mess around with some itty bitty anoles. Or maybe the ones with the frills... something tiny and adorable trying to look absolutely ferocious, and mostly failing. xD Oh that would be fun...


M-kay, so my computer was being really slow last night, so I grabbed my sketchbook to bide the time between clicks. xD The following is what resulted from about 30 mins of fiddling around. If I drew the pose again, I'd probably put a bit more twist in his spine, and fix the shaping of his chest... And I suddenly decided his front claws were reminiscent of cloven hoof. Oh, and I did end up fixing his back heel after I took the picture. Rounded it and suggested a tendon... But anyway, I was drawing with a 6B pencil, which is kind of thrilling because once you lay down a heavy line, you're married to it. xD or, at least, I am -- because I have not art supplies of awesome. Just household stuff.

Anyway, I'm rambling now, but you're free to pick this one to pieces. It's a style I finally decided to mess around with, I laid out the body hap-hazardly, and I'd love to have any sort of feedback for future endeavors...

Because the scanner is a high-traffic area, 'tis taken with my crudzilla cell-phone cam. And I didn't quite get the horizon level when I took the picture... xD I'll probably scan it in later, but I thought while I'm here, I might as well. :P

[Otterling]

I think you've definitely got something here. If you look at the work you posted first, I think this comes as a higher quality. There's more of a sense of realism to him. I get a distinct impression that he's heavy and that's good because it means he feels solid. Indicating mass is a really good thing. I think you have some good thoughts with the shading. Try softening the edges some. Here's a good trick: take that same pencil and try pressing very lightly toward the edges of your shading. You should get a lighter tone toward the outside edge. Then take a simple household tissue (I LOVE them) and wrap some of it around your finger. Use this to smooth down the shaded areas. You'll find it will help you blend and that will make the shading look more 3-D.

[Kella]

Oh, a tissue! I shall do that, yes I shall!

And then my finger does not get so messy! And I do not leave said messy fingerprints on my paper! xD

Thanks so much. xD I think watching one's art evolve is almost as fun as watching one's handwriting evolve, and this new spot of realism is quite superior to the last one, and even those dragons were far different from the flat ones I used to draw. xD

Which is to say, I really appreciate the feedback, especially when my style's so pliable. Next time I have my pencil out, I'll be sure to post more... ;D

[Kella]

Mkay, so I decided to mess around with a couple things... namely more Graarls, and a pose that -- for me -- is exceedingly ambitious. X)

Ta da:



Obviously, this is just the outlines. I didn't want to start coloring/texturing/cleaning it up/whatever until I was sure that the proportions and shapes were solid, and the best way to be sure of that is a second opinion, n'est pas? If you look closely, you'll notice that I also forgot to erase some of the lines of the background when I moved bits of his foreleg around... I didn't notice that until after I'd uploaded it. Oh well.

Anywho, it's always exciting as an artist to be able to look at something and know what you did wrong... xD This guy started out pencil and paper, with a slightly mis-placed head. It was looking detached, and I realized the spine wasn't anchored enough, so I pulled the scanned image into GIMP and moved it. But then my poor Graarl was looking much too young and cocky, and not nearly intimidating enough. Which I attributed to too narrow a distance between the shoulders. So, the left leg went for a bit of a migration, I re-centered the head, sketched a couple lines to make sure the skeleton still made sense...

And yeah, ^ is the end result. X) As aforementioned, I want to clear up any fishy stuffs before I start coloring, etc. I'm having some issues with the perspective on the chest. My reference pic for the pose was a Lynx, so it was all furry and the ribcage was completely obscured, and all the lizards I've found look too lazy. xD So feedback in that region, and in the hindquarters region, is hugely appreciated. Of course, feedback about everywhere else is too. xD

Anywho, have at it. ^^


Addition: Oh! And his smile is a bit cute-sy at the moment, so I'll eventually set his jaw a little deeper and take care of that fleshy bit at the corner of his beak properly... If that even made sense at all. X)

[Otterling]

Ok, so far it's a pretty good attempt. I would say make the left front foot a tad bigger to match the right. As for the ribcage, I think you might have the slight issue here of the fact that his hindquarters are too sharply to the left. This would make his ribs stand out extremely sharply on the right side. Think of it as a barrel. It's not real squishy to be honest. The larger a ribcage is, the less it really flexes. Snakes are the exception really. The ribs will keep the back half from being too far over. Here is a good shot of a panther that might help some with the pose I think you might be going for: fineartamerica.com/featured/1-florida-panther-hans-droog.html

If you want to keep the back legs that far to the left, try making the head turn but not the front legs as much. Hope that helps some!

[Kella]

Much thanks. ^^

For the foot on the left, I think I'll definitely space the talons a lot more, but I think most of his foot will still end up obscured by that rock... Yeah, I definitely need to space thos talons more. xD

I think I'll move his haunches around a bit... as opposed to shifting his front-quarters. Tricky thing about using felines as models is that they have all that fur, and the skin around their chest tends to sag a bit, if that even makes sense, and its hard to get a good feel for what's underneath. With that position, I'm thinking his right back leg is going to end up almost touching the back of his ribcage...

Whenever I get around to fiddling with it some more, I'll post up the result. X)

[Alexander]

Those are all really good. ;D

[Kella]

D'aw, thank you. xD

[Kella]

TIME FOR MORE.

Five hours every Sunday in Driver's Ed equals much time to draw. It helps me focus. And not lose my mind. The product of these intellectual labors:
















Well aware of salient flaws in all of these, but all feedback is, as usual, welcome and begged for. xD

[Sporky]

I'm ever so fond of the fourth. <333

[Kella]

So, this was started on a whim inspired by Dire-- er, Shaggydog's Tahlia pic, and then finished in a bout of toothache-induced insomnia. x.x

Meet my new Sith pilot. Who doesn't have a name yet.



Criticisms/critiques are -welcome-, especially 'cause I rarely draw people causethey'resodemmfinicky. D<

[Kella]

I felt compelled today to upload some of my more recent art because, hey, progress! xD Anywho.



These are the Duine, Mama Meira's new epic species of bat people. >D





I've always loved gryphons. ^^ Playing around with 3/4 perspective a lot lately, getting out of being stuck in side profiles. -__- Need to experiment with beaks more for Graarls... Speaking of which:





Roq! ^^ Currently attempting to color this digitally, which is why it's just an outline drawing. We'll see if it works out...





Playing around with scales.





Pokemon? xD




Got boredish at a kids party and they had watercolors and paper on the wall, so, I entertained myself. x3 Not happy with how the feet turned out, but, oh well.


And some more general doodling, including Baby duine and red panda and peeenguins. =D And also a Badger pirate. Just because.