EightyEightEyeballs
March 28th, 2009, 01:17 AM
Hello all!
I joined here in 2006, and to say that I've been a bit of a lurker is being generous--I've been virtually non-existent, but I've certainly been poking around here a bit. I plan to really change that and hopefully become part of the community here. I know that associating enough with you all will improve my skills drastically.
When I first joined, I hadn't planned on going into art as a profession--I'd studied piano for 11 years and was pretty sure that was how I would be spending my life. However, I had a very big change of heart--I knew that I wanted to go to New York City most of all, for school, and I didn't think my skills in piano were up to par with the competition I'd be facing (I'm a terrible sightreader - just like I'm terrible at math).
I'd been drawing all my life and that is what I would always do in my spare time, and I've been deeply intrigued by the idea of bringing imaginative things to life. So, the summer before senior year of high school I decided this was what I would do for the rest of my life--and I struggled and scraped together a portfolio just in time to apply. I ended up applying to two schools - School of Visual Arts and Cooper Union. I didn't make it to Cooper Union--I think it might have had something to do with my heavy lean towards illustration/narrative art--but I made it to School of Visual Arts. I'm just finishing up Foundation year and I've had a fantastic time. I love it here. I know that Elwell here teaches at SVA and I greatly admire his work. I didn't know he taught here when I first signed up with this forum! It was really cool to find out he was here! I'm signing up for his painting class next year. I hope he doesn't mind me saying all this, haha!
Anyway, enough biography. Here are some more recent works of mine. Unfortunately they are not quite 'fresh' because I've been so busy with school projects, but they are certainly a vast improvement from my older works (I have an old sketchbook here floating around that I do not advise you search for XD). I'm an animal/creature artist and with much guilt I admit I don't enjoy drawing/painting people at all, though I know I will have to master them in order to succeed in this field unfortunately. Perhaps my mind will change someday.
Enough blabbering - I'll write a blurb about each of these works; unfortunately they are out of any logical order, but from left to right
1. This was part of the Cooper Union home test - design a clock/device that redefines the concept of time. Pencil. (Dec. 2007)
2. This is a bit more recent than the previous two; I decided my graphic novel needed a bolder style so i could have a stronger voice, so I began testing a form of the American style of inking on my main character, the antihero Xathiador. Pencil, Microns, and partially colored in Photoshop. (Nov. 2008)
3. This was also part of the Cooper Union home test - a full-length self-portrait. Pencil (Dec. 2007)
4. This piece I find is one of my most interesting. It's a more recent piece, and I decided to go for baroque (ha, ha, ha) sensibilities here; inspired by Caravaggio and Rubens. Now I think I could do a much better job, but this piece was something of a milestone for me. Again, these are characters from my graphic novel. Pencil, scanned into Photoshop and colored. (Oct. 2008)
5. This was done literally last Wednesday as something of a joke--I had just gotten these awesome pencils that draw in rainbows, so here is a rainbow llama. Sorry for the bad quality! Koh-i-noor Magic multicolored pencil. (Mar. 2009)
6. This was also part of the Cooper Union home test - a view from a checkpoint. I think I've improved quite a bit since this one. Pencil. (Dec. 2007)
7. Homework assignment for Painting class last semester. I've really never painted before in my life, so it's something I'm really working on getting used to. A bit of a struggle is evident in most of my real media paintings. Acrylic on 6x8 canvas board. (Late 2008)
8. This is an ooooollld study from one of George Stubbs' anatomical panels, though I morphed it into my creature, Domnopalus (the green dinosaur-horse thing) by changing various things such as the skull and tail. I used a dino tail from the Natural History Museum here as reference for his. It's my firm belief that everything fantasy has to have a basis in reality in order to be convincing, so this was part of an attempt to enforce that on myself. I still rather like it. Pencil. (Early Dec. 2007)
9. Another painting assignment for this year's Painting class (I have Nancy Chunn as my professor if anyone happens to be familiar--she's an amazing teacher and something of a mentor to me now). 'Self portrait in costume' was the assignment. Many of you may recognize this as a different take on one of Howard Pyle's brilliant pirate illustrations. I had a ton of fun doing this, but again I don't really fancy myself a 'painter' quite yet. Acrylic on 9x12 canvas board. (Late 2008) Again, I apologize for the dreadful quality of this photo - I had to use my cell phone camera for all my paintings--I know it's horribly unprofessional but I really had no intention of showing these paintings online until now, heh.
10. This was yet another painting for painting class. This piece marked the first real-media painting I've ever done that has actually worked (it came before all the other acrylic paintings you've seen so far) and really paved the way to my getting more comfortable with the medium. Yes, it's a bit 'Hallmarky' but it does its job! Acrylic on 8x10 canvas board. (Late 2008)
11. This is the one of the more recent paintings for painting class, and I have to admit, I'm a little bit proud of it, though there are many improvements to be made. The assignment was a unique one--paint whatever you want. A once-in-a-lifetime chance, haha. I actually had a ton of fun doing this one. Acrylic on 11x14 Gessoboard. (Late 2008) Again I apologize for the camera photo.
I also like to sculpt - one thing is floating around the sculpture board (I got some fantastic advice) and a couple things haven't been photographed yet.
Thanks so much for taking the time to look!!! I'll have more for you all soon. I would love any feedback or advice you have to offer if you have a minute to write something. Thanks <3 I hope to see a lot more of all of you soon!
I joined here in 2006, and to say that I've been a bit of a lurker is being generous--I've been virtually non-existent, but I've certainly been poking around here a bit. I plan to really change that and hopefully become part of the community here. I know that associating enough with you all will improve my skills drastically.
When I first joined, I hadn't planned on going into art as a profession--I'd studied piano for 11 years and was pretty sure that was how I would be spending my life. However, I had a very big change of heart--I knew that I wanted to go to New York City most of all, for school, and I didn't think my skills in piano were up to par with the competition I'd be facing (I'm a terrible sightreader - just like I'm terrible at math).
I'd been drawing all my life and that is what I would always do in my spare time, and I've been deeply intrigued by the idea of bringing imaginative things to life. So, the summer before senior year of high school I decided this was what I would do for the rest of my life--and I struggled and scraped together a portfolio just in time to apply. I ended up applying to two schools - School of Visual Arts and Cooper Union. I didn't make it to Cooper Union--I think it might have had something to do with my heavy lean towards illustration/narrative art--but I made it to School of Visual Arts. I'm just finishing up Foundation year and I've had a fantastic time. I love it here. I know that Elwell here teaches at SVA and I greatly admire his work. I didn't know he taught here when I first signed up with this forum! It was really cool to find out he was here! I'm signing up for his painting class next year. I hope he doesn't mind me saying all this, haha!
Anyway, enough biography. Here are some more recent works of mine. Unfortunately they are not quite 'fresh' because I've been so busy with school projects, but they are certainly a vast improvement from my older works (I have an old sketchbook here floating around that I do not advise you search for XD). I'm an animal/creature artist and with much guilt I admit I don't enjoy drawing/painting people at all, though I know I will have to master them in order to succeed in this field unfortunately. Perhaps my mind will change someday.
Enough blabbering - I'll write a blurb about each of these works; unfortunately they are out of any logical order, but from left to right
1. This was part of the Cooper Union home test - design a clock/device that redefines the concept of time. Pencil. (Dec. 2007)
2. This is a bit more recent than the previous two; I decided my graphic novel needed a bolder style so i could have a stronger voice, so I began testing a form of the American style of inking on my main character, the antihero Xathiador. Pencil, Microns, and partially colored in Photoshop. (Nov. 2008)
3. This was also part of the Cooper Union home test - a full-length self-portrait. Pencil (Dec. 2007)
4. This piece I find is one of my most interesting. It's a more recent piece, and I decided to go for baroque (ha, ha, ha) sensibilities here; inspired by Caravaggio and Rubens. Now I think I could do a much better job, but this piece was something of a milestone for me. Again, these are characters from my graphic novel. Pencil, scanned into Photoshop and colored. (Oct. 2008)
5. This was done literally last Wednesday as something of a joke--I had just gotten these awesome pencils that draw in rainbows, so here is a rainbow llama. Sorry for the bad quality! Koh-i-noor Magic multicolored pencil. (Mar. 2009)
6. This was also part of the Cooper Union home test - a view from a checkpoint. I think I've improved quite a bit since this one. Pencil. (Dec. 2007)
7. Homework assignment for Painting class last semester. I've really never painted before in my life, so it's something I'm really working on getting used to. A bit of a struggle is evident in most of my real media paintings. Acrylic on 6x8 canvas board. (Late 2008)
8. This is an ooooollld study from one of George Stubbs' anatomical panels, though I morphed it into my creature, Domnopalus (the green dinosaur-horse thing) by changing various things such as the skull and tail. I used a dino tail from the Natural History Museum here as reference for his. It's my firm belief that everything fantasy has to have a basis in reality in order to be convincing, so this was part of an attempt to enforce that on myself. I still rather like it. Pencil. (Early Dec. 2007)
9. Another painting assignment for this year's Painting class (I have Nancy Chunn as my professor if anyone happens to be familiar--she's an amazing teacher and something of a mentor to me now). 'Self portrait in costume' was the assignment. Many of you may recognize this as a different take on one of Howard Pyle's brilliant pirate illustrations. I had a ton of fun doing this, but again I don't really fancy myself a 'painter' quite yet. Acrylic on 9x12 canvas board. (Late 2008) Again, I apologize for the dreadful quality of this photo - I had to use my cell phone camera for all my paintings--I know it's horribly unprofessional but I really had no intention of showing these paintings online until now, heh.
10. This was yet another painting for painting class. This piece marked the first real-media painting I've ever done that has actually worked (it came before all the other acrylic paintings you've seen so far) and really paved the way to my getting more comfortable with the medium. Yes, it's a bit 'Hallmarky' but it does its job! Acrylic on 8x10 canvas board. (Late 2008)
11. This is the one of the more recent paintings for painting class, and I have to admit, I'm a little bit proud of it, though there are many improvements to be made. The assignment was a unique one--paint whatever you want. A once-in-a-lifetime chance, haha. I actually had a ton of fun doing this one. Acrylic on 11x14 Gessoboard. (Late 2008) Again I apologize for the camera photo.
I also like to sculpt - one thing is floating around the sculpture board (I got some fantastic advice) and a couple things haven't been photographed yet.
Thanks so much for taking the time to look!!! I'll have more for you all soon. I would love any feedback or advice you have to offer if you have a minute to write something. Thanks <3 I hope to see a lot more of all of you soon!