Who else LOVED Barbie movies as a kid? (and now!)
Instead of drawing Disney princesses this year, I draw the main characters of the Barbie movies in the early 2000’s. Island Princess was slightly past my time, but I wanted a nice round 9 illustrations:)
The sketch
The final
Which movie was your favorite? It’s so hard to pick, but mine has to be Rapunzel:)
I have no memory of creating this sketch. Enjoy!
Draw your OCs like this 🤣
I usually kick off the year with a disney princess series (by usually, I mean the past two years). This year, I’m doing a Barbie series on instagram (here!) But, I never posted the disney princesses for 2020 here:)
My thoughts about each of these are below - I am thinking about redrawing some of these for stickers. Whjat do you think?
Hunchback of Notre Dame is SO good, and I like this drawing
I like the flow of thise
I like the dynamic of this, especially compared to the Frozen II drawing
Aww they love each other:)
Brave was good! I came around to it eventually. Give us more feral female protagonists
I love this one, and gave a print to my niece to hang on her wall!
easily my favorite of these. I LOVE the gradiant of black to teal, and the SHAPES
this one could use some reworking, and slightly less detail, I think
I surprisingly like this. It could stand some reworking though
Megara, sass queen. Her background harkens to Hades’ colors.
my girl! I like this, but it would be better with linework instead of lineless art
Definitely my least favorite of these, and the least imaginative! I had a mermaid, and all the shapes that come with it! what was I thinking.
I struggled a lot with Belle’s shape here. I think I could do better nowadays:)
Mulan’s blue dress is my favorite, but I like her ceremonial dress too
what do you think? I prefer the 2021 series, but I think this one has potential for reworking:)
I might. I want to. But painting is soooo rough. That means it’s GOOD for me and I NEED to do it more. Augh.
rain-soaked bride running towards a stained glass chapel
inspired by a mbmbam episode. let me know if you know the one:)
bridge in weird colors
myth of Pyglamion and Galatea
medusa??? maybe?
These correspond with my designs for Dracula characters now!
Doctor Seward is pretty sad and uptight. Quianna Morris is a temperamental Annie Oakley type. Artura Holmwood is elegant and reserved. Joanna Harker is fearless and loving. And Sarah Van Helsing is the eccentric wise aunt who bursts into your house at Christmas with expensive presents from overseas and wine.
And of course, Mina and Jonathan Harker sketches. Why do all Dracula adaptions ignore their love? 🥺
What a beautiful and terrible goddess. I wish she was in the Hades game. I bet she would give the best boons.
The speedpaint on youtube is here
The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir, is a thoroughly excellent series about necromancers in space, a murder mystery, a psychological horror, and just really, really funny. Don’t read if you don’t like beautiful and horrific descriptions of bones, though. Here is the speedpaint on youtube
hhhngg big sword
skull makeup!
Everything turns to vampires in my hands, I can’t help it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Monocolor
Full color
Weirdly shaped drawings happen when I have weirdly shaped pieces of illustration board left over
Lady Persephone
Maiden in a Window
Two entities pass each other in the forest
A Fox and Her Lady
This was one whole semester’s worth of work! I thumbnailed, sketched, composed, and rendered these four drawings. The basic idea was to learn to draw landscapes, choose realistic color palettes, and tell a story of two adventurers in South America. Looking back at these, I love the sketches so much more than the final product (but that’s normal for me) :P It’s weird looking at art from three years ago and seeing such an improvement in my current work!
May was crazy! To celebrate May The Fourth be with you, I created a Star Wars series with four main characters paired with flowers that represented them and a color scheme for each trilogy (and game). How much time did I spend deciding on flowers and color schemes? Don’t worry about it! Here they are!
The Child
He stands adorably the midst of some buttercups, which represent humility, neatness, and childishness.
The Original trilogy.
Heather represents luck and protection - and who is more lucky and protective than Chewbacca? I originally was going to draw Lando, but Chewie is in all three movies, and has more characterization and even more screentime in the other trilogies.
Violets represent bravery and are a homage to Ophelia - who had a tragic death. Han Solo is the very brave and lucky, and sadly, we all know his fate. Still, while he lived, he returned to danger in spite of himself to save his friends.
The purple iris means royalty, and being alone. Leia, princess, but has no people - this flower encapsulates her beauty and beating, and her tragedy.
Crocuses are the first flowers to bloom after the snow, sometimes even poking through it. Almost like... a new hope? Luke Skywalker is a very kind and loving person. I chose the moment he throws away his lightsaber in Return of the Jedi and these particular flowers because he IS the first flower after a snow, the start of something new.
The Prequels
Poppies symbolize peace and death, and are worn in remembrance of those died fighting. QuiGon Jinn was the first who died in the Emperor’s war, when it still secret. I chose to frame the flowers this way because it reminds me of pictures of saints and martyrs in a church.
The red aster represents wisdom - and who is more wise than Obi Wan Kenobi? The flowers are arranged around his head like a halo, symbolizing his role in life as a good man and his eventual fate.
Padme means Lotus - and the lotus represents, among other things, purity. Padme Amidala remained faithful to the Republic and her people, trying to do what was right for them.
Red hydrangeas signify boasting. Pride was Anakin Skywalker’s fatal flaw. I didn’t want to choose a flower that represented death or betrayal or anything like that; the fatal flaw in a character is the most compelling thing about them!
The Sequels
Marigolds symbolize loyalty. From his friends to the rebellion, Poe is loyal to a fault. I personally liked his decision to try and take over the rebellion! It’s a very star wars thing to do.
Dandelions thrive in harsh environments - Finn was kidnapped, raised by space fascists, and still managed to break free and grow.
California Poppies grow in the desert. The hillsides practically glow with their vibrancy. Rey is a beautiful flower thriving in the desert. Also, her lightsaber is at an angle! I just realized it looks quite foreshortened :P
Orange lilies signify pride. Like his grandfather, Kylo Ren struggles with his ego. Unlike Anakin, Kylo Ren’s pride isn’t quite as justified... :P (notice the lightsaber cutting through the lilies!)
Knights of the Old Republic
Blue Hyacinths represent constancy. Carth is their first companion, the one who sticks by Revan’s side - even after finding out their true identity. He was always my favorite character, and it took me like 5 playthroughs to figure out how to romance him.
Gentians symbolize justice and temper. Bastila is quite concerned with balance, but struggles with anger. I used to hate her, but I’ve realized she was a teenager thrust into an important, scary role! No wonder she’s so bossy
Forget-me-nots, picked for irony’s sake. Revan is covered in them, flowing with them. They need forget-me-nots in spades. Revan is definitely one of my favorite characters in all of Star Wars (canon or NOT)
Monkshood are never put in bouquets - because they are very deadly. These flowers are a warning and mean betrayal. Darth Malak - former friend of Revan - betrayed them, and took their place as Sith Lord.
Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
Periwinkles mean new beginnings. Atton has quite a tragic, bloody past - but he has the chance to start over, be it dark or light.
Morning glories signify love in vain. The Exile has searched for love, not knowing what she was looking for, from friends, to lovers, to followers. My Exile is named Arusha :)
Lavender stands for distrust. Kreia holds the Exile’s hand until the end, before she reveals her true self. Kreia is super suspicious the WHOLE game, and no one aboard the Ebon Hawk trusts her, including the exile.
Mycena Galopus are a glowing mushroom, which feed off dead flesh, much like Nihilus feeds off the Living Force. He is the Exile’s counterpart; they are both “black holes in the Force”. I always loved his character, as un-fleshed out (haha) as it was.
Every year, I kick off the new year with a Disney Princess series over on my instagram and other social media. I’m ranking all the dresses from January 2021. These are based on comfort, prettiness, and what I would personally wear:)
17 - being a mermaid would be pretty sweet, but a seashell bra sounds extremely uncomfortable. 0/10, would rather wear anything else
15 - Snow White’s outfit is pretty basic, but the skirt if pretty swishy and perfect for frolicking. 1/10, the collar looks very annoying to wear.
13 - Megara’s toga is very mobile and looks light. However, the lack of decoration is disappointing. Her massive amount of hair is fun to draw, but would be very heavy! She pulls it off though. 3/10, would wear while lounging
11 - Moana’s outfit is so pretty and the patterns are great! The bare midriff doesn’t bother me so much because the gap is small, but the grass skirt looks like it would itchy. Alsa, it’s sleeveless! No thanks. 5/10, I’m allergic to hay.
9 - Esmeralda’s everyday wear. The dance factor and climbing over roofs factor is off the charts! This lady is stalwart and fearless, and I can only yearn to emulate her. However, I don’t love off the shoulder outfits. 6/10, time to dance!
8 - I know what I just said about off the shoulder, but this is just one shoulder bare. Plus the leather looks very soft and swishy as Pocahontas runs around the forest. I love this dress and would wear it in a heartbeat. 7/10, time to stand in front of a waterfall.
5 - Anna’s dress is super warm and very beautiful. The designs evoke growth in a period where winter has overtaken the land, and the colors tie her and Elsa together. Probably the best dress I’ve ever seen for hiking a mountain. 8/10, would wear while skiing.
3 - I’m a sucker for the princess peasant dresses, and this one is my very favorite. When she spins, its flares out around her and the colors are muted and very lovely. 9/10, would wander the woods in it.
16 - Jasmine’s pants look very cool, but I feel uncomfortable baring my midriff. Also, her outfit is pretty boring in general. 1/10, parachute pants
14 - sorry, elsa. Your dress transformation looks awesome, but is it made out of ice? Sequins are also no fun to wear. 2/10, thigh high slits = :/
12 - Sorry Belle, but gold, while luxurious, is not my favorite color and the dress looks heavy and too opulent for me. Off the shoulder dresses bother me as well. She looks great, though. 4/10, would wear to waltz.
10 - Tiana’s blue dress is also sleeveless, but the simple elegance and lovely color saves it from a lower rating. 5/10, would wear if my original costume got food on it.
8 - Rapunzel’s dress is so lovely, and suits her perfectly. Unfortunately, she’s clearly outgrown it! And because my high school colors were purple and gold, the color scheme has been ruined for me forever. 6/10, perfect for hiding a chameleon
7 - Cinderella’s ballgown is iconic, and Disney’s modern promos RUIN the color! It is clearly a light blue-grey dress with white accents, not the intense blue disney wants it to be. This is elegant and magical. 7/10, lose the choker please!
4 - Belle’s peasant dress. What a beautiful blue! What a practical, simple dress for walking through a French village in, lamenting the everyday ignorance of the people around you and wanting adventure. 8/10, would wear to the market
2 - Mulan’s blue dress is clearly mobile and is quite pretty. I love the colors and the swooshiness of it! This dress has everything. 10/10, would make, but no $$ for silk.
1 - Merida’s outfit. The color is stunning, the mobility is AWESOME, and celtic patterns are my weakness. I was just as surprised as you that this was my favorite. 10/10, is comfy, practical, AND beautiful. If i was going to make myself a cosplay, it would be this dress right here.
I love seeing other artists’ process, so here’s mine!
I started with a series of instagram polls, because I was out of doodle ideas:
Man or Woman, Victorian or Sci Fi, Plants or Space, Warm or Cool, Floating or Standing, Warm or Cool, Animal Companion or Not.
The italicized ones are the ones that were chosen, so I ran on over to Pinterest to find some good Victorian dresses (at the time, that was in the lead)
This was my favorite of the victorian sketches - I’ll finish it late, with a cool glowing green color palette:)
Then, I moved on to the next page after more realistic studies to play with the shapes. The one below is very nice, and I will finish it in watercolor later. It’s really cool how the sketching process can spawn so many cool ideas:) References lead to inspiration, kids!
playing around with a circular design - a lady pushing away a tree brach, with a fox looking towards her
The pollsters switched the prompt to scifi, so I switched to a sort of android idea - I always love playing with big volumes of hair, especially curly, because of the shapes:)
I like this character, and I like the idea of an android with flowers inside of them. Playing around with floating people and fox shapes… Animals are a weak point of mine!
The red pencil helped me get in the mindset of a “warm” color palette. I don’t know why that helpd me, but it does!
I like the one on the left! The floating, the fox - it has a flow to it that is so lovely. Time to make it BIG!
This might be the smoothest big sketch from a tiny one I’ve ever had…
Finally, I lined the sketch with my colored pens!
I took a picture with my ipad and colored it with procreate, to get across my idea of metal android with flowers in a vase, sort of a greenhouse effect. This might be my favorite drawing of 2021 so far:)
Thanks guys! You can view the speedpaint of it on my youtube here.
This poem, by C.B., hit me so hard and inspired such vivid imagery that I had to draw it.
“Tell me the story” talks about the objectification that women in ancient Greece faced and the myths they passed down to their daughters.
Warning: minor depictions of sexual assault and nudity. This poem talks about Medusa, Daphne, and Europa among the general era of awful-ness women went through.
I might redo the comic with typed words, but for now I’ll leave the writing as is (so organic, right??).
Here is the poem in full:
tell me the story:
Of the dryads who turned themselves to trees
To hide from the greed of men
Smelted in their axes
And smouldering in their eyes.
tell me the story:
Of a goddess who loved
Her priestess so much
She let herself be called a monster
To save her from those wandering hands
Cold like stone.
tell me the story:
Of the mountain of the gods
Built on the broken bodies
Of the women of the Mediterranean,
The ones who laughed and-
Ambrosia dripping from their lips, thick and sweet like blood-
Named their continent
After a woman they planted in the dirt.
Tell me the story of how those bones
Grew the West,
The bones of Europa,
Victim in life
And
Not as dead as Zeus.
Guys, I did it!! All 31 days, no playing catch up or posting late! Drawtober ended up with some really nice pieces and I’m proud of what I accomplished:) Maybe I’ll follow a list next year… If I can find a list that I like!
I also did a couple of series below. That’s definitely something to consider for next year!
The first in a little medieval series that have halos of different shapes. Medieval + shapes = happy me :)
Red Saracen soldier
*heavenly choir*
The second series, of capes with forces of nature in the inner lining. And women in historical clothing. My series don’t HAVE to make sense!
The flames turned out SO WELL!
the COLOR scheme is wonderful! Red and green is a hard combo, but this turned out excellently
So my sisters and I used to watch this soviet animation of The Eleven Swans. The art style was, in retrospect, so very influential on mine. https://youtu.be/v1MRYIzbdaY Here is is in all its old fashioned glory.
Did you have to read The Lady or the Tiger by Frank Stockton? The last line really stuck with me.
Fall cuddles before going into spooky week!
Double bubble boil and trouble - a witch with a beautiful color palette
They’re off to rescue the princess from the dragon! But which one is in the tower….?
The devil went down to Georgia, he was lookin for a soul to steal he was in a bind he was way behind he was willin to make a deal…… (SUCH a good song!)
I don not drink…vine
Fighting a golem! I love the perspective in this one
A ghoooOOOooost
And of course, Dracula. The Halloween king of my heart!
And that’s it! Let me know if I should do any drawing challenges for November and December!
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October has been a WILD month! Can I say that I TOTALLY crushed it? I haven’t had to play catch up AT ALL! Did I improve in 31 days?
Inspired by the beautiful Spanish traditional dresses! I’ve found since that my art style works best with limited color palettes (what this one has)
A little Regency-era river date! Ft. a little frog:)
Star crossed lovers! She’s the lady in waiting of the Lady of the Sun, and he’s the King of Night. In other words, color and value contrasts <3
This is my least favorite of the drawtobers I think. My art style is not very well suited to lineless art, but the color palette here is lovely!
The story in my head is that the pirate girl was diving into the sea, looking for stuff on the ocean floor, when she dives in, turns around, and sees a shark mermaid! But they’re friends:) Thus begins a long and lucrative friendship! The shark mermaid finds treasure in the deep, and the pirate girl brings her treasure from land.
THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES THE EYES
Ursa Major and MInor:) Constellations are really cool in concept, and I’d love to draw more!
An exercise in typography and an instance where the sketch was cooler than the finished piece. However, I’d like to keep at it and maybe do more fairytales!
No, I don’t know where all those wonderful toys and/or snacks went. Don’t worry about it.
What’s through the door? (The fae. Go in :) )
I’d like to have this many dogs and cats
The Queen’s Thief fanart! Attolia and Gen have the best dynamic! Please go read this series by Megan Whalen Turner!
This might be my favorite composition! Circles make the coolest compositions:)
Stair hair! This was my first real foray into layer effects and actually trying to make stuff glow. I really like the result!
Don’t they make the coolest couple? Rococo clothes are soooo extra
The next set will be out whenever October is done! I really like doing these month long series. Do you have any ideas for other month themes?
I so rarely draw fan art. It really has to be something good, something that grabs my emotions and makes me come back again and again to re-experience the greatness! Last time, I went on about the Adventure Zone, but this week, I’m going to scream about Gravity Falls.
Look. If you like good sibling relationships and found family. If you like weird cryptids. If you like kids solving mysteries and HUNTING CRYPTIDS FOR SCIENCE. If you like a show with continuity, amazing animation, a solid story. If you like a narrative that builds and build to a thoroughly rewarding and satisfying and perfect end to a series, I beg you. Go watch Gravity Falls. It’s hands-down my favorite animated show ever.
Anyways, here is art for it:)
Here’s Mabel PInes, in all her glittery glory. Yes, she has a Pig names Waddles. Yes, it is the best show on earth. You can watch the speedpaint here.
Oh Dipper. Twin of Mabel. He hunts for the secrets of Gravity Falls, and perhaps he helps unleash the apocalypse. As a treat:) here is the speedpaint.
My ex wife still misses me….BUT HER AIM IS GETTIN’ BETTER.
This guy. Stan Pines is probably one of my favorite character EVER. He is a classic jerk with a heart of gold (and knuckles of brass). Speedpaint.
Look, the coolest kid in town! We ALL want to be Wendy Corduroy, Don’t lie. Speedpaint here!
What started it all. I would give ANYTHING to find a cool secret journal in a secret compartment in the woods! But, I probably would die within the first week, so. Maybe leave it to the PInes:) Speedpaint!
August 31 is Dipper and Mabel’s birthday, and the end of the show.
Go watch Gravity Falls! If you have Disneyplus, thats where I watch it:) Let me know what you think!
I haven’t struggled this much with a composition in forever. Usually it’s the thing that comes easiest! But it was still my favorite part of the process:)
This piece with through several iterations. Dark water or light? Blood or no blood? I have included all for your perusal.
Right now, the one on the right is my favorite. I imagined the story behind it being that a woman was dressed as a sailor and got found out. They tied her up and threw her overboard to swim with the fishes. She will :)
Mermaids save her, of course. Then she has her revenge as a siren. If anyone has recommendations for books with mermaids or women dressing up as men to sail or do something considered a man’s job, PLEASE let me know!
First, i start with the sketch, be it on my ipad or in a real, live sketchbook.
A church doodle. I really wanted to frame the town and the setting sun, as though the viewer was with the boy and the cat.
Then, I printed out the clean lineart from my ipad and transferred it using tracing paper.
I set up camp at my desk with all my tools and stuff.
Black Magic India Ink, a cup of water, a cleaning kleenex, two crow quill pen nibs (102), and a pen holder. I switches nibs whenever one started to act up (probably every 30 mins or so)
This is my “scratch board.” after dipping the nib in the ink, a draw a couple of lines to make sure it’s all flowing okay. Make sure to clean off your nib every couple of dips! ink clogs up the channel and cakes on, making the nice lines not as clean, and can cause splatters and such.
A quick, important note: when you are inking, have the channel of ink FACING the direction you’re drawing. if you were to look straight down the barrel of the nib, it would make a C. Drag the C in a line, with the concave part facing the direction of the line, if that makes sense.
The beginning is always the worst o_O
I realized after I removed the blue tape that the lines were JAGGED. The tape prevented a smooth line down the edge, unlike paint. I’m still working on figuring this part out.
working on the columns and clouds. Shadows are where I struggle the most in rendering. Also, do not draw clouds without a reference, they’ll look like trees…
Taking a break from dumb clouds to work on a wall! much more fun:) I liked making each brink textured and interesting.
Here I forgot to take pictures, because I had to wait on new nibs and got REALLY excited when they came it.
The city and tower are done. I am trying to figure out the sky and sea.
The boy is now done. Tyying to get really fine strokes for the sky.
Done! I peel up the tape and grab my eraser.
I like how it turned out, though it wasn’t quite what I had pictured. In some ways, I like the sketch a lot more, but I believe that this is compositionally better.
back and forth with the sun and the boy. Compositionally it’s chef’s kiss :)
The Aesthetique :)
I will be doing more of these in the future! If I remember to take pictures… If you have any comments or questions, let me know! More pen and ink artists are what this world needs >:)
Stay safe, and have a wonderful day!