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

A Dog Day (Days#7,8)

 Last night I sketched, but didn't feel like posting anything. But hey, the goal is to get me drawing so...success!? All the same, tonight I felt like I just had to draw something I could post; if only to keep myself accountable to my challenge! 

Tonight's sketch is inspired by my cutie, my doggo Belle! No picture will ever do her justice, but I would love more time to create art of her :) Just not tonight...it's so late already! 

Good night all!

Little Butterfly Days#5,6

 

A sunny break in the storm got us all outside! While Belle-doggo went sniffing and rolling in the wet grass, my Little-Guy and I enjoyed watching the little white and orange butterflies flutter around. from flower to flower it flew until it landed on a leaf, seemingly full and happy as it rested.

I started sketching this Monday night, but again my art-time was cut short by a fussy Little-Guy! So, here's another unintentional two-evening sketch, again rough with some digital color :) 

P.S.- According to the internet, I believe our little butterfly friends to be "white peacock butterflies".

Movies on Disc (Days#3,4)

 It has been an odd couple of days. They have reminded me (against my will) how much I rely on the internet these days. With a storm coming and connection very, very spotty, I ended up digging out a movie on disc *whoa!* to have some background noise as I work. I found an unexpected amount of comfort in a familiar movie’s menu loop :) 

 

Nice to see you again Qui-Gon!*

It was so nice to enjoy the movie without sputtering or ad breaks. I forgot the peace that comes with the intentionality of having to put a disc in a player. No auto-play, no jumping instantly to something else at random like you can with streaming services now.

After sketching in my book with good-old pencil, I had the urge to bring out my old drawing tablet! It has been so long since I sat with it. I took what I'd started in my real sketchbook yesterday, redrew a lot of it, and added a dash of digital color for fun ;)

Still just a rough drawing, but hey, it's getting late again! I hope you had a great weekend! Good night all!

*As always, fan art is for fun, and I make no claim to their characters/property. 

Sketchbook Day#2: Too Tight!

Whew! I feel like I need to shake it out! 

I know starting a new challenge for myself always gives me nerves, but geesh. I started sketching tonight and I felt all the tension trying to think of and draw something “good enough” for this blog/challenge. My sketching started off super stiff and soulless; too tight!

Though I’m not satisfied with the results today, I know it’s the habit of drawing and the journey that I should focus on right now! Little victories, right? So, here is a super rough sketch from tonight’s pages as I sketch through this funk!

My Way Back (Day#1)

One goal of my return to blogging is to be unashamedly myself and honest. I don't want to deny my struggles; and I hope someone can feel a little less alone in their struggles by reading about mine. I didn't expect my first day back to drawing to be quite so heavy, but here we are *chuckles*. Which brings me to today...

I stayed up too late to “just doodle” and found a flood of emotions waiting to engulf me. I’ve missed it so much, I’ve missed the art community I used to be part of. I’ve let my skills get rusty, pens dry up, pencils break. 

Part of me feels like I’m nuts to put myself through this when I could be asleep….and the rest of me knows I crave creating so much. It is the part of “me” I have been missing! In some ways it’s not about choice; I am not “completely myself” when I am not creating! 

So I push through with good music and doodle this. Here’s to day #1 of getting back to “me”.

In the end I am glad for the wave of feelings. It means this endeavor is worth it :)

Another Chapter

 Another new chapter starts today!

Around this time one year ago, I sat at my desk with my baby asleep in his bassinet next to me. I finally had just enough peace of mind and energy to paint! And I chose to paint his cute little face :) 

Introducing my Little-Guy!

Everything before and after that moment seems both far away and like it happened in a blink! Either way, today I sit with a one-year old sleeping next to me as I write, and I am again setting myself a goal to get back to my creative pursuits. It has been very difficult for me to carve out time for my art on any kind of consistent basis; or post things online! With a new determination to guard time and energy to make it happen, I will embrace this new month as a new start!

A Year, New Art!

A new year, a new place to call home...

...and a new opportunity to share my art and adventures with you! :D 2021 is full of goals, wishes, hopes....and I hope to bring you some joy in sharing my art-journey here!

The snapshots below are my first of the year! Reflections on 2020, a goodbye to France, & a hello to my new home state: Florida! There's still so much I have yet to see, but each time I walk out the door I see something new; something art-inspiring! :) 

Keep an eye out for art soon! I am finally just about settled in, so I can get drawing! 

Sending my sincerest & best wishes for you & your family this year!

Bird's Beginning

It's the second week of quarantine for us, so to keep me from spinning my wheels too badly I decided to embark on a fun 3D project :)

This is a more involved project, as I will be doing a fair bit of experimentation! But I am happy to employ my 3D modeling skills to creating a cute little bird for a video game :) The goal is to create it in parts, keep it low-poly for minimal lag, and to script some simple movements to him. Bonus if I can eventually make him chirp too!

Below are a couple screenshots of my work in progress! You can also see them on my Instagram>>

The screenshot above was taken just after I unwrapped, and had a mess of UVs to size and organize :) Below, You can better see my model in different views, and my final arrangement for my UV map, as it is currently :) As I do a test paint soon, I will see if it needs any editing- hopefully not! :D



 I forgot to take screenshots as I was modeling, but you can see the wireframe in these anyway. I will be painting him up soon, so he will look more handsome than his current grey blob-like appearance :P

That's all for now folks!

As always I wish you well, but today I send an especially sincere wish for good health to you and your loved ones. Take care until next time, when I hope to bring you a little cheer in the form of a little painted bird :)

Project Low-Poly

Recently I have been enjoying getting engrossed in making low-poly creations suitable for games :) My goal is to have a collection of simple but beautifully textured prop models, and, with some scripting help, an "animated" bird! I am enjoying the challenge of creating these models with as low polygon count as possible, while still making a pleasing form.

Below are two pieces I can share with you today, a simple model of "Claude" my real house-plant, and a standalone four-leaf clover for Saint Patrick's Day!

Claude the Aloe

Lucky Clovers :)

Take care of yourself, and see you here again tomorrow with a modeling update!

Happy March Pup

Happy Sunday!

Every day is a good day to appreciate doggos :) Don't you agree? Especially those with big goofy smiles!? So, today I sketched this handsome fella, a sweet german shepherd!

A good start for what I hope to be a very productive work-week. Hope you have a good one too! See you again soon :)

Spring & a Fennec Fox

Happy Saturday all!

As we close out this month, I wanted to share an extra blogpost with you.

This weekend, I encourage you to take a few minutes just to appreciate those good things around you. February came and went like a blur, and I am sure I am not the only one to feel that way! So as we welcome March, I hope that we all can be a little more present, and fully enjoy those little things that make life brighter. :)



To start this endeavor, here are some pretty flowers, a cute fennec fox, and some lovely creations by the wonderful artists of Carnaval de Nice (Click to go to the video)!

I was very lucky to be able to attend a Carnival celebration; the "Flower Battle" parade, or properly:  "Bataille de Fleurs" :) Performing artists including musicians and dancers dawn beautiful (and fanciful) costumes to entertain and throw flowers at the audience! :D We came home with a nice bouquet! Click on a photo on the left to go to a short video :)

My Moon

Crisp, cool nights have allowed for a beautiful view of the moon over the hills nearby. I don't think I have properly appreciated its glow in a while, and was happy to gaze at it between a break in the clouds :)

Rhino, yo!

I find that if I'm in a drawing-funk that I can't get out of, sketching an animal I seldom do breaks me out of it :) Something about the novelty? Or paying closer attention to the anatomy? Not exactly sure why, but I have this rhino to thank for resetting my drawing-brain again :)

Adventures & Appreciation

It is amazing how much a change of pace can do for your levels of energy and inspiration! A hike near the mountains gave such perspective, on many things! It has definitely been a week of nature-inspiration....while also sitting in front of a computer screen experimenting for maybe too long. :P

This week I focused my energies in two areas I've missed; 3D modeling and texture painting! There is a special kind of satisfaction when you update a texture painting onto the model and....viola!- it fits well and makes the model look that much more convincing!

First, the fun found feather (whew, alliteration!) that started my digital art obsession:

Next, you may recognize this plant from last week's post....but I used my painting in my texture mapping for this potted plant project (oh goodness, there goes the alliteration again!):

I have many, many more project ideas flying around my head, so there will be much more fun projects to come! Thanks for reading, and as always, have a great week!

<3 And Happy Valentine's Day!

Heart Leaves

As the flowers are starting to bloom in the park behind our neighborhood, I took special care to appreciate them as I walked by. One took my special attention....one with heart-shaped leaves and a happy yellow flower! I couldn't help but paint a study, and it became my favorite drawing of this past week :)

New Year & "New" Me

I really enjoy learning about different cultures' customs, so this past Saturday I found myself reading more about the Chinese New Year. Specifically, I got to learn about this being the beginning of a "gold rat" year :) (If you want to read an interesting article that I did, you can find it here). In honor of the new year, and my love for pet rats, I just had to stay up late to draw these little cuties:

Another challenge came my way during this last week, and that was the "toon me" hashtag I saw many a fellow artist having fun with on Instagram. So, I decided I'd join in! Here's my cartoon-self, and I'd recommend hopping over and seeing other artist's self-portraits!

Well, that's all I've got today! Thanks for visiting, and see you again in February!

A Happy Diversion

This post's title could not be more fitting!

Since this time last week, I have felt in a bit of an "artist's-block" (as you know how frustrating writer's block is....), which needed to be solved with a change of pace, and working through LOTS of unfruitful sketches.

So I allowed myself to doodle and sketch and do any random art-thing that could get me out of my rut. In doing so, I am glad to have made a couple cute sketches for Valentine's Day cards (pictured below), and I let myself have the time to explore a new resource for bringing my 3D art into games (will talk more about that later!).

Pictured below:  "Batty" About you! & Lovebirds

Thanks again for reading, and see you again next week! :)

A Workflow Experiment

To make this year a truly insightful one, I wanted to start off this month with a "bang!". This week I wanted to push myself to try new techniques and work flows in digital painting. Thanks to Udemy being a wonderful resource, I found a digital painting class by Hardy Fowler. It has been a great thing to get inside another creative's head and see their techniques and process!

So, the following work-in-progress painting project is one from this class. It's still not finished, and I will update it here when it is. But the most important part (and something that I am excited to say) is that I have learned some digital-painting specific tips that I think I will continue implementing!

Something especially enlightening is the technique he teaches for gaining more organic variability in digital painting. It is easy for digital paint-strokes to look "fake", or calculated and too perfect. His painting technique helps to soften that, and I am very thankful to learn it!

Pictured: (First below) Ink & color blocking mask, (Second Below) initial skin tone painting stage. Click each image for more info.

I look forward to finishing this guy up, and hopefully seeing you back here next week! Thanks for reading! And if you are curious about the course, you can click here. (P.S. I am not at all affiliated)

Welcome 2020!

Happy New Year!

Lots to look forward to this year! Included in the bunches of hopes and goals I have going forward, I am committing to two exciting challenges; the 365art/daily posting challenge on my Instagram (@BriannaLeahyArt) & a weekly blog post here! I will hopefully be able to keep my blog posts on Wednesdays :)

I am excited to take time to draw for myself every day, exploring new topics, media, and generally improving myself and skillset! So, check back often, good luck on your new year goals, and happy 2020!

Pictured:  Some of my challenge posts so far!

Thanks for visiting, as always!