Daily Drawing August Success! :D

 Well hello again! :D 

Despite it being a good bit since my last post, I am finally back on her to say....I did it! :D For every day of August, I did not let myself sleep until my pen or pencil hit the page and I at least sketched! I am so glad to have committed myself to my daily drawing goal, and even though I chose not to post the drawings, I can honestly say it was a success!

Through this challenge I learned what I suspected; that a large barrier to getting back into my artwork was the self-imposed pressure to complete something post-worthy here. That pressure lead to some anxious feelings and the thought that if I felt like all I was capable of doing was "bad" art, that there was no point. But I know that's the furthest from the truth! So, I made the decision to let go of that expectation of myself, and wow, it made all the difference. It still strikes me how enormous of a weight that took off my shoulders. Even though I'd love to include 30 stunning pieces with this post, I believe I have made my peace with the fact that to get to that point, right now, I need to let off some steam to be able to be myself again.

Since the end of August, I allowed life to take priority again, but I am so glad to say the daily drawing has made its way back into my mind. Even after a long day, I have felt inspired to sit and create before winding down for bed. With a cup of tea and more positivity and less pressure to post, I have found myself excited for this quiet creative time :) I can't express how dearly I love having that feeling again!

All this said, I do intend to get back to sharing my artwork, as I am ready and happy to do so! :D

Impromptu Portrait: Digital Illustration

Someone was not paying attention, so I naturally just had to paint him! Thanks to my boyfriend for not moving a muscle while working on his computer

Lucy! A Digital Doodle

A proud puppy! This is a painting of a lovely fuzzy friend of mine, Lucy Jackson.

Painted in Photoshop CC on my new Cintiq!

Ravena Concept: Work In Progress

This month has gone fast! I have been hard at work on a body of freelance work I cannot release yet, so I will do an update on some of my personal work!

 This is an improved concept for my warrior girl 3D character model. I started the project as just practice to improve my modeling skills, but after completeing her basic shape, I realized I really wanted to make her into a real character. So I went to work sketching up a different look for her. I knew so little about armor design and through more sketching and researching I have came up with this! She is still a work in progress, but her design has definitely improved! So here she is as she exists now, warrior Ravena Arlan!

Baby Dolyak: Guild Wars Fan Art

Digital doodle time! I was playing Guild Wars 2 today, and was inspired to paint this! A dolyak calf from the "Flying Dolyak" race event. So much cuteness!

Painted on my Bamboo tablet in Photoshop

            I do NOT claim any rights to Guild Wars 2 or the characters! This is fan art. Thank you!

Learning Mudbox: Mermaid

My first time using Mudbox! Yup this past semester I decided to use my special studies class to begin using Mudbox! I chose to learn by doing a project, in this case a character model of a mermaid. I began by researching and doing my own original mermaid design shown below. Then I started the model in Maya 2013 for the basic form and transferred it over to Mudbox 2013 where I did most of my sculpting. All of the painting was done inside the program as well using PTEX. I am still learning and getting the hang of the program, so I have much more practice ahead of me! I am looking forward to using the posing tools inside Mudbox too!

Live Animal Drawing: Los Angeles Zoo

The following drawings were done from live observation of animals at the Los Angeles Zoo. Straight from my sketchbook, this selection of sketches are all done in dark brown Prismacolor colored pencil on regular sketchbook paper.

Boris Bear: Ranger House Set

This environment is for my short film about Boris Bear. In it you can see the trees I have been building, which now make up the forest around a ranger's simple house. This is the first pass at the environment, so it may undergo some changes later as the rest of the space is built. The scene takes place in daytime just after a rain storm has passed, so it is somewhat gloomy.

Final Tree Lineup:

Simple Ranger House:

Stylized Trees: Trio Tree Model

This tree is from my set of designs for my 3D short film starring Boris Bear. This is the sixth of seven trees in the set (see "Original Stylized Tree Designs" for the original set of sketches:  http://briannaleahyart.blogspot.com/2012/06/original-stylized-tree-designs.html ) This will be the final model of the set as one of the original seven was omitted for a more cohesive look.

This tree is painted in simple color for now.

Modeled, lit and rendered in Maya 2012, painted in Photoshop CS5 and Corel Painter 12

Stylized Trees: Sprout Tree Model

This tree is from my set of designs for my 3D short film starring Boris Bear. This is the fifth of seven trees in the set (see "Original Stylized Tree Designs" for the original set of sketches:  http://briannaleahyart.blogspot.com/2012/06/original-stylized-tree-designs.html )

This tree is painted in simple color for now.

Modeled, lit and rendered in Maya 2012, painted in Photoshop CS5 and Corel Painter 12

Fun with Cats! Sketches

The cats at the shelter where I volunteer always seem to have such personalities! So I couldn't help but have fun whipping up some quick sketches of the little characters when I got home!

This is a page from my sketchbook, done in Prismacolor colored pencil.

Stylized Trees: Lollipop Tree Model

This tree is from my set of designs for my 3D short film starring Boris Bear. This is the fourth of seven trees in the set (see "Original Stylized Tree Designs" for the original set of sketches:  http://briannaleahyart.blogspot.com/2012/06/original-stylized-tree-designs.html )

This tree is painted in simple color for now.

Modeled, lit and rendered in Maya 2012, painted in Photoshop CS5 and Corel Painter 12

Stylized Trees: Tear Tree Model

This tree is from my set of designs for my 3D short film starring Boris Bear. This is the third of seven trees in the set (see "Original Stylized Tree Designs" for the original set of sketches:  http://briannaleahyart.blogspot.com/2012/06/original-stylized-tree-designs.html )

This tree is not yet fully painted and textured, just simple color for now.

Modeled, lit and rendered in Maya 2012, painted in Photoshop CS5 and Corel Painter 12

Stylized Trees: Big Tree Model

This tree is from my set of designs for my 3D short film starring Boris Bear. This is the second of seven trees in the set (see "Original Stylized Tree Designs" for the original set of sketches:  http://briannaleahyart.blogspot.com/2012/06/original-stylized-tree-designs.html )

This tree is not yet fully painted and textured, I just blocked in the colors for now.

Modeled, lit and rendered in Maya 2012, painted in Photoshop CS5 and Corel Painter 12

Stylized Trees: Pine Model

This pine tree is from my set of designs for my 3D short film starring Boris Bear. This is one of seven trees in the set (see "Original Stylized Tree Designs" for the original set of sketches:  http://briannaleahyart.blogspot.com/2012/06/original-stylized-tree-designs.html )

Modeled, lit and rendered in Maya 2012, painted in Photoshop CS5 and Corel Painter 12

Original Stylized Tree Designs

I designed this set of trees specifically for my upcoming short film starring Boris Bear (character designs posted soon!) The trees will make up the forest where the film will take place, and each will be interpreted into a 3D model in Maya. I will be posting finished models as they come!

The trees were sketched in pencil, then scanned in and put into Photoshop CS5 for color

My Sketchbook Pages: Ungulate Studies

Gesture drawing studies of assorted ungulates! I referenced the book Drawing Animals by Hugh Laidman, 2003. This is the fifth installment!

And course I do not claim the original drawings as my own; these are just studies to practice what I have been learning in my Animal and Wildlife drawing class.

All of the drawings were done in a dark brown Prismacolor colored pencil.

My Sketchbook Pages: Bear Studies

A few more gesture drawing studies, this time of adorable bears! I referenced the book Drawing Animals by Hugh Laidman, 2003. This is the fourth installment!

And course I do not claim the original drawings as my own; these are just studies to practice what I have been learning in my Animal and Wildlife drawing class.

All of the drawings were done in a dark brown Prismacolor colored pencil.

Gentleman Billy Goat: Rigging Update!

Yes Project Billy Goat is still alive and well!

In late January I began rigging him and have since been working hard on him, so I wanted to let you get a peek at what I have done so far!

His body is almost done, I'm currently in the process of getting it's bells and whistles rigged (ears, tail, beard, etc.), and tomorrow I will begin skinning him. That will leave me with blend shapes and attaching the face controls! You can see all of his controls in the picture below- yes they do make him look quite silly!

Currently all of his limbs can be moved, he can twist, he has full use of his hands and fingers/hooves, he can move his head, look anywhere he pleases, walk...all he needs now is an expressive face!

My Sketchbook Pages: Dog and Hyena Studies

Even more gesture drawing studies!!! I referenced the book Drawing Animals by Hugh Laidman, 2003. This is the third installment!

And course I do not claim the original drawings as my own; these are just studies to practice what I have been learning in my Animal and Wildlife drawing class.

All of the drawings were done in a dark brown Prismacolor colored pencil.