Ask the Artist | gypsy_sunday
Hello! Thank you so much to oxoniensis for inviting me to host this round of Ask the Artist. I do hope I can step up to the challenge! I've written up a bit about myself and my drawing process to start us off :)
Background
I have always been an avid artist, pretty much from the moment I figured out moving pens across surfaces left marks. Much to my older sister's chagrin, my early works of art used her favorite books as their canvases. I've since moved on to more traditional media, but I didn't really start drawing seriously until high school. Apart from the required art classes in high school and a one-month summer program, I haven't had any formal training. I applied exclusively to art schools in my senior year, and planned to go to Parsons as an illustration major. But I changed my mind at the last minute, and I've since given up pursuing art as a career and now enjoy it as a hobby.
Manga has had a huge influence in my art, and was the reason I started to pursue illustration in the first place. This is very apparent in my style of drawing, which has developed over the years. I've begun to use references more in my drawings in recent times, which has helped me fix lingering anatomy issues. I never really tried to draw the likenesses of real people until I began drawing for the Supernatural fandom, so it's been a real learning experience for me!
Some of my old art ('05~'08); lots and lots of androgynous boys, lol XD
[ click for full size ]
Tools of the Trade
I have an extremely old (8+ years), extremely tiny (20x20 cm) Wacom Graphire 2 tablet that I've been using ever since I learned how to draw on the computer. Before I switched to a Mac, my favorite software to paint in was openCanvas and Paint Tool SAI; unfortunately, neither of these programs work on a Mac so I've been using Photoshop CS3 for the past couple years.
But my favorite tool, believe it or not, is the ballpoint pen. It has all the benefits of working with pencils (pressure sensitivity, fine lines/details, cross-hatching, textures, etc.) without any smudging or fading. Here is an example of something inked 100% in ballpoint pen:
[ click for full size ]
Drawing Process
I always forget to cap my progress as I draw, so I set out to draw something especially for spnroundtable. I was inspired to draw Sam knitting from lazy_daze's fic, In Time. It was such a great image and I thought it would be a good challenge for me to draw hands doing something as complex as knitting.
The first step is to sketch out the whole thing. Most artists don't get too detailed with the sketch, but I tend to draw out everything. Sometimes I do a sketch in pencil/pen and scan it in, but this time I did the sketch straight into Photoshop.
I set a new layer over the sketch for my inking. I use the Photoshop default brush and adjust the size as I go along, using an eraser to make my lines thinner or add detail.
Sam's eyes were looking wonky so I used references to try to get the shape of his eyes right. Obviously, I'm not trying to copy the photo; I use reference as guidelines. (I'm not very good at photorealism anyway XD)
Dean's reference. I have way too much fun drawing Dean's lips >:3
It took me ages to find a good reference for knitting hands, but I finally got one that didn't have an old lady in it. I don't know what possessed me to draw in all the stitches, but once I started it was hard to stop...
Lineart finished!
I set the lines as the top layer and the add flat colors beneath it. This step is really, really tedious.
I add some color and texture to the skin in another layer. Freckles ♥
Shadows go on yet another layer. I pick a light source and block everything out.
Then I got back with an eraser to blend and smooth out the shadows.
Highlights! This is probably my favorite step (because it means I'm nearly done, lol). I've also added a background gradient with a subtle wall texture.
I added a final light texture over everything to give it a warm glow.
The finished product! Some close-ups: one & two. And you can look at all my layers here.
Selected Works
I am not a very prolific artist, as I am both slow AND lazy (lethal combo). But here are a few of my recent works:
All of my fanworks are posted on lockthecolt; you can view all my fanart under the art tag.
... So "a bit" ended up being "a lot," whew. You guys still there? XD; Sorry for rambling! It's your turn now ♥
Background
I have always been an avid artist, pretty much from the moment I figured out moving pens across surfaces left marks. Much to my older sister's chagrin, my early works of art used her favorite books as their canvases. I've since moved on to more traditional media, but I didn't really start drawing seriously until high school. Apart from the required art classes in high school and a one-month summer program, I haven't had any formal training. I applied exclusively to art schools in my senior year, and planned to go to Parsons as an illustration major. But I changed my mind at the last minute, and I've since given up pursuing art as a career and now enjoy it as a hobby.
Manga has had a huge influence in my art, and was the reason I started to pursue illustration in the first place. This is very apparent in my style of drawing, which has developed over the years. I've begun to use references more in my drawings in recent times, which has helped me fix lingering anatomy issues. I never really tried to draw the likenesses of real people until I began drawing for the Supernatural fandom, so it's been a real learning experience for me!
Some of my old art ('05~'08); lots and lots of androgynous boys, lol XD
[ click for full size ]
Tools of the Trade
I have an extremely old (8+ years), extremely tiny (20x20 cm) Wacom Graphire 2 tablet that I've been using ever since I learned how to draw on the computer. Before I switched to a Mac, my favorite software to paint in was openCanvas and Paint Tool SAI; unfortunately, neither of these programs work on a Mac so I've been using Photoshop CS3 for the past couple years.
But my favorite tool, believe it or not, is the ballpoint pen. It has all the benefits of working with pencils (pressure sensitivity, fine lines/details, cross-hatching, textures, etc.) without any smudging or fading. Here is an example of something inked 100% in ballpoint pen:
[ click for full size ]
Drawing Process
I always forget to cap my progress as I draw, so I set out to draw something especially for spnroundtable. I was inspired to draw Sam knitting from lazy_daze's fic, In Time. It was such a great image and I thought it would be a good challenge for me to draw hands doing something as complex as knitting.
The first step is to sketch out the whole thing. Most artists don't get too detailed with the sketch, but I tend to draw out everything. Sometimes I do a sketch in pencil/pen and scan it in, but this time I did the sketch straight into Photoshop.
I set a new layer over the sketch for my inking. I use the Photoshop default brush and adjust the size as I go along, using an eraser to make my lines thinner or add detail.
Sam's eyes were looking wonky so I used references to try to get the shape of his eyes right. Obviously, I'm not trying to copy the photo; I use reference as guidelines. (I'm not very good at photorealism anyway XD)
Dean's reference. I have way too much fun drawing Dean's lips >:3
It took me ages to find a good reference for knitting hands, but I finally got one that didn't have an old lady in it. I don't know what possessed me to draw in all the stitches, but once I started it was hard to stop...
Lineart finished!
I set the lines as the top layer and the add flat colors beneath it. This step is really, really tedious.
I add some color and texture to the skin in another layer. Freckles ♥
Shadows go on yet another layer. I pick a light source and block everything out.
Then I got back with an eraser to blend and smooth out the shadows.
Highlights! This is probably my favorite step (because it means I'm nearly done, lol). I've also added a background gradient with a subtle wall texture.
I added a final light texture over everything to give it a warm glow.
The finished product! Some close-ups: one & two. And you can look at all my layers here.
Selected Works
I am not a very prolific artist, as I am both slow AND lazy (lethal combo). But here are a few of my recent works:
All of my fanworks are posted on lockthecolt; you can view all my fanart under the art tag.
... So "a bit" ended up being "a lot," whew. You guys still there? XD; Sorry for rambling! It's your turn now ♥