Nimue's Sorrow: So my idea was Nimue gazing at the enspelled Merlin, within the crystal.
Only I don't have clue about illustrating crystals and light. And I 'm dissatisfied with the composition overall. So. Please Analyze!
Given I'm stuck with these proportions (it's an ACEO ATC), what should've gone where? How should colors have been changed? How can they change further?
It's all watercolor and ink on coldpress (I think) at the moment, but I have paint, black ink in various thicknesses, and colored pencils.
Fierce Hair: Thinking about the themes of Illustration Friday (June 27, 2008: fierce) and Monday Artday (June 30, 2008: hair). Well. Of course.
Thought about calling this "Fierce Despair" but I don't think the set of her shoulders or eyebrow is quite despairing. In fact, I'm not sure what she's about to do: look up? turn away? Fling out an arm but keep her eyes closed?
There's something off in the angle and shape of her front hand and forearm, but I can't quite pinpoint it; comments/advice welcome!! And I think her earring should've swung forward a bit more.
Ink and pencil on sketch paper. Original is about 4 inches (10 cm) tall.
Sea Dragons: Original is 4"x4", and while already (having just finished it) I can see things I'd do differently or better next time, I'm very pleased.
I spent quite a bit of time reading some watercolor technique books recently. I'm certainly not that good yet (yet, dang it!), I think I've just made a step forward. Now to work that step really hard...
Nevertheless, critiques welcome!!! Especially since I'm still not producing good enough stuff for Fantastic Portfolios... (I will, dammit. Somehow. Somewhen....).
A Dragon's Picnic: I've been working on a illo to submit to BookCrossing. I just don't work large enough -- nothing I have fits their minumum size. This was a ... challenge to get the scan even close to the original colors. Something about a heavily green image when the scanner (like many scanners) is not delighted by blues.
This one is a crop of the orginial -- these proportions works well enough, I suppose.
Watercolor underpainting (mostly Winsor&Newton), colored pencils (mostly Prismacolor), Staedler black ink, on 60 lb sketch paper (augh! What was I thinking?).
I so totally should've used that new projector to transfer this darn image to a heavy paper.
Still, I learned something about paints again, and about clouds. Not enough about the pencils.
I'm pretty happy about the dragon colors in the original (more rose and gold).
I think I desperately need to take me and paints OUTSIDE to work on shadows. I like this well enough but there's too flippin' much I don't know.
Luna Fae: I did a series of three illustrations for a faerie tale (we'll do more if we get an interested publisher). This is a segment of one on the illustrations.
It's fairly zoomed in. I really like the colors here, although even since I did this (last summer), I can see how I've improved. Not much (but then, I haven't' been able to practice as much as I want), but some. Interesting to see what I'd do differently here next time.
Nimue's Sorrow: So my idea was Nimue gazing at the enspelled Merlin, within the crystal.
