Ready to Start Sketching Again

I have utterly ignored my poor sketchbook and blog over the past year. I am finally in my last week of school, and I am ready to start putting more effort into my sketching, illustrating, and all around blogging routine.

I am in the process of completing my webfolio, so that is taking all of my time for the time being. Stay tunned and I will share all the fun things that have happened this year, and my accomplishments.

Butterfly Fairy Princess

This is a photo of my daughter as a Butterfly Fairy Princess splashing in a mushroom.

The mushroom is commonly known as "Chicken of the Woods". I took this picture at Bennett Spring State Park, Missouri on July 22, 2007. It was roughly 14inches in diameter. The picture of Raevan and the butterfly was taken at Lake of the Ozarks State Park, Missouri on July 23, 2007.

Study in Repetition

This assignment consisted of creating either a design or motif for the first image. The second image was to be a repetitive pattern. The design could be flipped, mirrored, or tiled. Whatever it took to achieve unity and balance.

The first part of this process was creating the motif. I did this by experimenting with different motif possibilities on graph paper. This allowed me to make sure that the positive and negative spaces matched up precisely with each side. I then scanned the motif’s to which worked best as a pattern.

Upon making the decision for the motif that created the most balance and unity, I set to perfecting it in PhotoShop. This proved to be a very time consuming, yet rewarding, task. I chose to use contrasting colors of purple and yellow, and green as an accent color. Keeping it three colors, or less, I felt was important to maintain the unity and balance.

The next step in the process was to create the pattern. I had intended on having the edges vertical, and the middle two rows horizontal. This was too much movement, however. I then chose to keep it simple by tiling the motif, as if it was ceramic wall tiles, or fabric. I feel the end result to have the rhythm, balance, and unity in the repeating pattern that I desired from the beginning.

I do think I will try the other two sketches...So stay tuned :D

Posted by Laura McDowell at 7:06 AM

Study in Positive and Negative Space

The assignment in Positive and Negative space consisted of finding making an 8x10 image of a black alphabet letter on white background.

There were some requirements:

• The positive and negative space has to be close to a 50%/50% ratio.
• The image has to produce atleast 5 seperate shapes in the negative space.
• The letter has to touch all four sides.

There were some options:

• The letter can be of any alphabet in any language.
• The edges of the letter may be cropped out.
• The letter may be edited to meet the requirements above.

The process of deciding which letter wasn’t difficult. I was originally going to pick a thick cursive “L” with sweeping lines. However, when I came across the font Old English Text MT was exactly what I needed.

I did need to edit the original font to add some weight to make it approximately half of the image. I also added a few extras to soften up the negative space, and make the outcome of the second part more interesting. Finally, I thinned out the negative space in the center of the letter.

Original and edited font, for comparison:

For the second portion I completed eight design variations. The first one was balanced, but the negative space made somewhat of a character, thus changing focus to the background. This negated the concept of using the negative space in Image one and the positive space for Image 2:

Other tries seemed to be too random:

The one I finally chose was due to the balance I seemed to achieve. In this image, the balance can be seen from top to bottom, as well as left to right. I had one heavy piece, and by combining all but one of the other pieces, the finished image seemed to have unity and balance. The integrity of the white becoming the positive space is most prevalent in this one, in my opinion:

Study in Color

This assignment consisted of seven images. The images were to be made up of basic shapes arranged in a way allows the viewer to asses the relationship of the colors.

Image one and and two are made up of the primary colors against both black and white backgrounds:

Looking at the two studies side by side, one sees a definite switch of emphasis. The design on the black background is more balance with each color seemingly sharing intensity. The same image on the white background, however, intensifies the blue shapes, as the yellow circle in the center seems to blend into the white background. The vibrancy of the colors is much more intense set against the black background. The one thing that seems to be an interesting effect is that of the red circle in the center of the yellow circle. The set in the black background seems to have a receding red circle, whereas in the white the red seems to be in front of the yellow circle.

Images 3 and 4 were to be the same shapes as the secondary colors on black and white backgrounds:

Once again, the black background increases the intensity of the colors. The focus of these images has changed from the center circle, as in the primary, to the orange portions in the black background. The white background seems to make the purple portions stand out the most. The relationship between the colors are an interesting aspect of this design. The orange set against the purple takes on a cooler hue, and those set against the green take on a warmer hue. The green reacts accordingly with it’s surroundings, as well. However, it is the intensity that changes for the green. The green that is set against the purple takes on a darker shade than that behind the orange. These color relationship changes are equally seen in both the black and white backgrounds.

Images 5 and 6 were to be the same image, once again, using the 6 tertiary colors.

There is so much going on with this color scheme that it is hard to focus on one aspect. One thing that stood out right away is the trapezoids seem to be larger against the black background then those on the white. With the primary and secondary designs there was certain unity about them. The whole picture provide a focus, and the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines of sight were easily established. In this set; however, there seems to be a vertical line through the cool images, that separates the top half from the bottom.

As far as color relations, the blue-green does seem to be cooler as a background for the yellow-green then that against the yellow-orange. The red-purple in the center of the blue-purple seems to be an entirely different hue than that set against the yellow-green. In the past images the black background seems to intensify all of the colors. In this one the blue-green is less saturated than against it’s white counterpart.

Image 7 was to be the image that is, in my opinion, the most harmonious. The emphasis is to be circled and followed by an explanation on why:

This one is, in my opinion, the most harmonious of the six images. The colors seem to belong to each other, and to the black background. This image creates a sense of depth that literally pulls the eye to the center. However it’s not the center that is the main focus, but the action created by the trapezoids that catches the viewers attention. It’s almost as if a box has been opened, and the thrill is not what’s inside, but the act of opening it.

Conclusion

In my first design I chose just three shapes arranged as they are now. Once I came to the tertiary portion of the assignment I quickly realized that more shapes were needed. Both to fit all six colors in, and to adequately observe the relations between the colors. I am still not fond of the tertiary sets. I am accustomed to sticking with a two to three color combination, thus the tertiary sets seem to be overwhelming.

My Backyard Collage

Ok so I know I am posting this on day seven. I have a good excuse, really I do! I created this collage yesterday for my MySpace site. Basically I took some pictures that I took of some budding trees in our yard, and a caterpillar. I cropped them in PhotoShop, and created a frame for each. It was pretty fun. I actually created the frames from scratch, and I was quite pleased with the beveled look that was achieved.

So that was yesterday. I couldn't post until tonight because the Photobucket site and my Internet connection were fighting. I suppose they made up, because I was able to upload it this evening.

So on to Day 7 and some sketching...or something else creative.

BTW-Kudos to Tony LaRocca for letting me know that I was having readability issues on the MySpace page. Thus giving me the challenge motivation for the day :-).

PhotoShop Fun

Saturday's are my deadline days for my assignments. If I can do anything creative on Saturday's then I can do something creative anyday. I really was pushing the clock tonight. I decided in light of the holiday, I would do some PhotoShop play. Nothing special...but fit's the description of something creative everyday in May :-)

EDM Challenge #2-Draw a Lamp

This little darling creature is a lamp that I remember from my childhood. No it wasn't in my, or my brother's, room. This lamp belonged in our mom's room. I had completely forgotten about it until my aunt pulled it out of Mom's closet while helping her pack for the move to a subsidized apartment. Since space is limited in my mom's new "utility" apartment my boys have inherited this little guy.
It actually sits on the glass top desk/table in our living room/office. I may leave it there, I have been considering changing the color scheme of my living room to warm orange, purple, and brown, anyway. I think this little guy will fit right in, and add a bit of fancifulness. I have yet to replace the shade, but I kind of like the balance and simplicity that the plain bulb gives. This is one of those bathroom bulbs that can be used without a shade anyway.

Illustration Friday-Remember

For those that grew up in the 80's....Do you remember?

EDM Challenge #117- Draw Something Round

This is a representation of a pot holder that my husband's grandma has. I love the play of words. It is a "round tuit", perfect for the procrastinator who has a habit of saying, "Oh, I'll do it when I get around to it...". Obviously, his grandma has a round to it, so no more excuses for putting things off. Of course anyone that has met her would have a hard time believing that she has said that a day in her life!

I did have to use some creative liberties on it. For it has been over a year and a half since we have been able to visit her. I did call my husband, at work, and he seems to think it is brown and orange. He did say not to quote him on that, though....oops ;-).

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Quote Break: Compliments of Quote Garden

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. ~William James

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. ~Don Marquis

If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it. ~Olin Miller

Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. ~Spanish Proverb

EDM #11-Draw Your Glasses or Sunglasses

For this challenge I went ahead and drew my eye glasses. One, because I love them...Two, because I can't find my sunglasses :-).


I did these Saturday morning while visiting my mom. I wish I could have captured the way the light streaming through the window made the Burgundy plastic shine. I tried to add some color with my handy crayons...but that just smeared the pencil detail I had done. Once I took a picture of the page with my camera...(scanner not working, another lament)...it was so fuzzy and just didn't work. So I decided to add some ink. I'm still not real happy with it. Oh well, it's an experience...LOL

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Quote Break

Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. ~ My Husband

(Original Aurthur Unknown, to me)

Art Supplies-Priceless!

Ok..so in the mists of poking fun at my supplies. Yet making a statement about the way us artists (I'm using the term "us" loosely ;-) get hung up on our supplies' brand/quality. I happened to, quite purposefully, get a plug in for my Yahoo group...Bad Spellers Anonomys . Yeah, that's it...

If your wondering what I am talking about....Look at the "Not Worrying About the Medium" again.

If you noticed, and didn't comment...Thank you!

If you didn't notice, then you are invited to join Bad Spellers Anonomys ...LOL!

It took my Mother-in-law to point it out. Thank you L.A.;-)

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Quote Break: Compliments of Quote Garden

• The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. ~Elbert Hubbard, The Note Book, 1927

• Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life. ~Sophia Loren

• It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something. ~Ornette Coleman

• I never make stupid mistakes. Only very, very clever ones. ~John Peel

• Never say, "oops." Always say, "Ah, interesting." ~Author Unknown
  
  

EDM Challenge #1-Draw a Shoe

My Beloved Ecco...

Well, I do have two of them actually :-).

I bought this pair of shoes when I was pregnant with my second son. My husband freaked when he found out how much money I spent on them. Rightfully so, they were $160. But they felt so good. The whole pregnancy, I didn't have any back pain. Which is saying something since I worked over 60 hours a week...on my feet.

Here it is almost seven years later, and I still wear them daily. Last year my husband bit his words when he bought a pair of his own. ;-).

EDM Challenge # 13-Draw Your Telephone

This is my little AudioVox phone through Virgin Mobile. It's not about the phone for me. It doesn't do anything special, like take pictures or play Mp3's. It is the basic cell phone for the "just in-case". It's a pay-as-you go...but if you ask me the best plan out there. We generally don't pay more than $20 every three months. Obviously, we don't use it that much. It's a way for the kid's schools to get ahold of us if we are out on errands. So anyway...here it is :-)

EDM Challenge # 33: Draw an Eye

EDM Challenge # 33
Originally uploaded by Mommy Bee.

I'm not exactly sure if this qualifies as being "drawn", but there is a lot of computer drawing to accomplish the final result. It was sooooo fun, too.

To see it in it's original size, and un-pixelated, double click and that will take you to the Flickr site.

Originally I did mine, and my friends liked it (on top)...So I created a glamor eye for each of them. Dave wanted a dragon eye, I think I accomplished it :-).

Goes to show us how unrealistic the images of models that we see are. Anyone, I mean anyone, can be "beautiful" with PhotoShop.

Dogwood

This is a drawing of Dogwood Flowers that I did as a possible element for the church website. We went a different direction in the long run. This was my first experience with oil pastels, and I LOVE them. It's like coloring with crayons, but looks like a vibrant oil painting. Unfortunately the vibrancy of the original doesn't show in this photographed copy.

Hosting Test: Official Website

Hosting Test

Alter Ego Illustration: Rre-College ;)

EDM Challenge #78- Draw a Souvenir

EDM CHALLENGE #78
Originally uploaded by Mommy Bee.

The challenge...Draw a souvenir of a place you have been. Journal a bit about that place.

The Souvenir (s)...A glass from the St. Louis Zoo and my Lewis and Clark Journal.

The memory?

Zoo- I remember when I was around nine my mom and dad started dating again, (they were divorced when I was 5). My dad lived up in the St. Louis area, so we went to the Zoo "as a family"...Dad, Mom, Mark (my brother), and I. This is the only memory I have of us all being together. That fall, Dad met Linda my stepmother, to this day.

Journaling with Louis and Clark- This was a wonderful program put on by the state of Missouri, where you go to eight different sights in the state, and learn something new about the 1804-1806 expedition. Then you write or draw about it in the journal provided by the state. We intended to fill up the book, but with car troubles this year, we only made it to two of the locations. Unfortunately the program was over in May. But that doesn't mean we can't still visit those places and journal on our own :-)