Charcoal, pencil and a merman

I was watching a charcoal tutorial on youtube. It was about drawing an eye. But the main problem was, that my charcoal was not the smudgy type. So I had to take out my soft pastels, which I coincidentally, only have in black, white and gray, and try to see if they would work. And boy, did they! They worked wonders. I mean, the iris could have used a bit more highlights, but oh well, it still looks cool! I love how it looks! Done on an A4 paper with some tooth to it. The sketchbook it's in was a Christmas gift. :D And so far, it's working pretty well for me. 

This one was done while I was watching some youtube video about basic proportions. It was all about measuring and comparing distances. And the guy is like still doing the nose while I'm googling hairstyles. Basically, remember what's-his-name from the post titled "Who the fuck are you?"? Well, this was a similar process. Just this time, I did a female, just like him. But the end result is completely different. The size is a fourth of an A4 paper. Done in a basic pencil that I don't even know the hardness of, but it seems like it could be a standard 2B pencil. Or something like that. Well, anyway, I'm happy with how this looks. What do you think?

Heh. Frankly, I don't even know what to say about this one. I mean, it's not horrible, but compared to the other two, it's like a complete noob drew it. And maybe it's because it was done in oil pastels and on a rather small paper. So I couldn't really fit enough detail into it, but still. The hands are pretty horrible. Though my thought process is this: If I don't draw them, regardless of how horrible they are, I'll never get better at drawing them. So that's why I'm posting even this. It's not my best work, but it's not my worst either, so there you go. Tell me how bad it is. I can take it.

~AnnElfwind

Written on: 8th of January, 2020

Who the f- are you?!

I can't help the name! He reminds me of someone! And I just don't know who!!! So I named the pic "Who are you?!" Seems fitting. Done by following a tutorial on youtube. And let me tell you, mine's completely different. I mean, I started with the same guidelines and all, but then, I'm like doing the eyes and I'm like ahead of the video itself. So I go and do the nose. And then in the video, the girl's like: "Hey, I think her nose is making her look African-American." And I'm like: "Her?" Because at that point mine looked like a guy. So I go and do the mouth and then she's doing the mouth and outlining the upper lip while I just did a shadow. And then she's talking about how it's important to have the eyes low enough because of the hairline and stuff and I'm like: "What do I even do for the hair?" So I go and google this: Male hair front view long.

And I get this guy. Obviously Asian. And he has hair that is long and done in some kind of a ponytail or something similar. So I'm like: "Hey, this will do!" And I go and copy that hairstyle on my drawing. Well, copy. It's not exact exact replica of it, as he was a little turned to the side so I had to make parts of it up, but it is definitely heavily inspired by this hairstyle I found. And I love the finished result. The guy really reminds me of someone. And the funny thing is, he reminds my dad of someone from real life. He just doesn't know who. And as for me, it's definitely not from real life. It's someone from a game, anime or maybe even a movie. I don't know! And it's driving me crazy.

If this reminds you of anyone, please tell me who. Maybe it's the same person. 

~AnnElfwind

Written on: 3rd of February, 2020

Mountains

I got a set of canvases for Christmas. One is still unused but the second one now has mountains on it. Bob Ross inspired mountains to be precise. Yes, it's not exactly like the one he made, but he said I could do whatever I wanted! So I did.
The trees were a pain and a half as I didn't have a fan brush. Now I do and I hope that the next painting I do will be better. I mean, this is good, don't get me wrong, I really like it, but the trees! I made them work somehow, but I still think they would have been better if I had a fan brush.
So, I bought that today. Two to be exact. As well as two different sizes of canvas boards. And I saw tombow markers. And that's not something you really see a lot here in CZ. So I had to buy some. But they are really expensive so I only bought black and two shades of gray as I think you can do a lot with that selection. And gradually, I'm gonna buy more. Well, depending on how well they work. We'll see.
Now, back to the painting. Bob had some bushes in the foreground, but I had too much water and it was too bright so I did just some flowers on a patch of green grass. Oh yeah, the major difference between mine and Bob's is that mine is done in acrylic paints instead of oils. I really didn't feel like mucking around with turpentine. That stuff stinks. Like, I don't really mind, but others do!
So I hope you like the painting and hopefully, there will be more. :)

~AnnElfwind

[Written on 27th of February, 2020]

A bunch of pictures

Wooden path. Done in crayons. Just to see what I could do with them. I wish my crayon skills were on par with LemiaCrescent from youtube, but I'm nowhere near her level. Still not gonna stop me from trying. Problem is, my crayons don't seem to want to layer. Oh well, I'm gonna be vacationing in the UK this year so I'm gonna try to get my hands on some art supplies that are not available in my country. Including some Crayola crayons, just to see if they really are better than what I have. 

This time, I took out just a normal pencil. And then I got inspired and decided to draw a tree while watching some "how to draw" videos on youtube. I love the fence. Yet, I'm a bit disappointed with the top of the tree. The rest of it is good, but the topmost part, not so much. Still, altogether, a nice sketch. Well, not a sketch, a drawing this time. Too detailed to be a sketch. For once.

Another tree done in pencil. This one can and will be classified as a sketch. I did not spend enough time on it to be anything but a sketch. Still like how it turned out. Love the shading of the branches and the tree trunk. Though I did almost tear through the paper with the pressure I was putting on the pencil. Well, that's what I get for using such a flimsy paper. 

Pants this time and it's a bunny. Mostly just an outline with a bit of shading in the darkest parts. And some flowers in the background. Oh, and he's green because I had some leftover green paint and didn't want it to go to waste. 

Peacock done in markers. Water-based markers, I must add. At least di did not use the flimsiest paper I had. The sketchbook this is done in has paper that is a bit sturdier. Not as good as my mixed media pad that I still haven't used, but better than the one I did the bunny on. Not that the bunny had problems, but you understand what I mean, don'T you?
The problem with this was, even though the paper was of better quality, I still had some problems when I layered too much marker on top of each other. And then I started bitching about not having enough green shades. So the next day I went to buy some. And now I have a bigger selection. 

Moon valley. Done in markers mostly, but the moon is white acrylic paint that was half dry on the palette. I started this several years ago. And this year, I came back to it. It's in a book that has almost every page filled with an unfinished picture. There are a few that are already finished, but I'm honestly not sure if there are any empty pages left. Maybe one. But I don't know for sure. My prediction is that it will take quite some time to finish it. In most cases because I have zero idea what I was doing on some of the pages. Really, some of them have several random lines or similar and I have no clue what it was supposed to be...

Elephant. In gray paint. Just a quick sketch. Wanted to try animals and had leftover black and white paint. Or maybe just black? I don't know. It could have been white for all I know. But I know I had leftover paint of some kind. I love how the elephant turned out. Also, initial sketch was done in pencil that was then partially erased with a kneaded eraser. 

Bell pepper. In yellow. Done in water-based markers. I love how it looks. Though again, the flimsy paper. I feared I would tear right through it. I didn't though. Love the shading on it. Like, I know it's not hyperrealism, but I still want to grab it and eat it! And now I'm wondering if it really is done in markers. Because I think it actually isn't. Or at the very least, it is a combination of paints and markers. Still, looks great and I love it. 

  

An Owl. Hoot hoot. Well, not Hoot Hoot. That would be a pokemon. Done in paint and colored pencils. Really like how it looks. Though if I wanted, I could go back into it and make it a lot darker and more saturated. I won't, though. I think I like it the way it is. So why mess with something that works, right? 

Who left a burning candle right next to a book? Done in pencil initially. But then I decided to add some color and took out my oil pastels and giocondas. I mean, who doesn't like blue fire. I sure do. So I added mostly blue, but also some black and gray for shading. And for the record, the photo doesn't do it justice. It looks kinda better in real life. I guess it's because the photo is not lying flat and is not front and center... I'm not taking another one!

Horse. Don't know why. Maybe as a homage to my horse phase when I was younger? There was a time when I would draw a lot of horses of any kind. And I still like them, but I'm no longer so crazy about them. That's what I get for entering a dragon phase.

Well, nevermind. This stallion is done in paints and I love how he turned out. Now to figure out what breed he is. Any ideas?

Various buildings

This first one, I don't even know what the heck this is. I know I had inspiration from Pinterest again. I get a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. As well as youtube. However, I really don't know where I was going with this. I keep thinking it's not finished but then I always change my mind and decide that it really is finished. So, make of it what you will. I'm done with this picture. Washing my hands off of it. 

A window. Where it leads, no one knows. It's, after all, boarded up. And with some greenery growing around it. I like how it looks. The colors and then the black outline in certain parts. I really love how it doesn't outline everything perfectly. Done in paints. And now, that I'm looking back at it, I think I could have gone in with a lot more green paint. Could have mixed in a lot more shades of it. But I'm not gonna do that anymore. Not with the black already added. Should have realized it before that. Oh well, lesson learned. 

This one was inspired by a Pinterest pic of a Tuscan window. I tried to do something similar but I can safely say that theirs turned out a lot better. I mean, I like the flowers, sure, but the rest of it, it looks horrible. Still, it was good practice. I'm not gonna get better if I don't practice. Right? 

A tower top. In golden color. Reminds me of some of the Russian palace towers. Done in markers. And the background was then blended a bit using water. Which, only possible because these are water-based markers. I do have some alcohol-based ones, but the color palette is really limited. Yes, it would have been enough for this picture, but not for many others. And half of them are dry anyway. Well, maybe not yet, but I haven't used them in a while. So who knows... Still, I'm happy with this picture. I love this style of pics. 

Last one in this post. Another tower. This was the first time I tried experimenting with adding the lineart after doing the paint. And yes, the roof is all over the place, but other than that, I think the experiment was successful. Yes, it's not my best work, but hey, it was mostly for the experiment. And not much else. I do like it though. Maybe not as much as the previous pic (the golden tower top), but I do like it. 

Boatsies

This time, I got some boats. This first one is, again, done on the acrylic primer. Again, don't know why I decided to combine it with a pencil instead of paints. But hey, it went for some interesting effects. Though it was a pain in the ass to erase when I needed to. Oh well, lesson learned. When using pencils on acrylic primer, do it right the first time.

Second boat. This time no primer. And done in oil pastels and giocondas. I love combining those two. It makes for some really interesting effects. Add in the fact that I don't have the best color selection for one or the other, combining them is the best way to deal with that. And even if, in time, I'll get a better selection of color, I'll probably still combine the two. I like how they work together. 

A bunch of Lighthouses

This first one is done with paint. At first, I was trying to do it the correct way for watercolors - layer, layer, and layer, but then I said: "fuck it" and went in with some more concentrated colors nad been done with it. At the very end, I added the line art and the crows. It is, in the end, just a quick sketch inspired by a Pinterest post, but I do like how it turned out. And maybe I should just re-type what I wrote next to in on the other page. As I, lately, am prone to do.  

Second lighthouse. This one done on a small format page. Like, a quarter of an A4 paper. And a really thin one at that. I did an initial sketch with a red pen. One that is not erasable. And then I was going in with paint. Lately, I've been using a lot of paint. And I have to say, I really like how the cliffs turned out. The lighthouse itself could use a lot more work, but hey. I was worried I would tear through the paper, it really was thin. All in all, the cliffs are better than the lighthouse itself, but not too bad in general. Especially for such a crappy paper and a quick sketch.

Last one. This one is done on an A4 paper. Again, thin paper, but layered with acrylic primer. Don't know why I then used markers of all things, but hey, it worked. Frankly, in real life, it looks way cooler, but even the photo is not too bad. Though it is probably not visible much, there are white dots of paint all over it to give it a bit of a magical feel. Out of the three lighthouses, I like this one the best. I also spent the most time on this. So no wonder I like it. Like, I still didn't spend too much time, but out of the three, this one took longest. So what do you think? 

~AnnElfwind