Color schemes, headaches, etc

Here are some (really zoomed in, compared to their print size) backgrounds for a comic I'm doing for school... mostly interested in practicing with color, and digital painting.


I don't like digital painting anymore (it's so much easier to make stuff look good with paint, I think), but it's very cost-effective and there's no loss of luster through a scanning process. Took a lot of cues from Anne in terms of digital application of spongey looks. She's pretty clearly more advanced than I am, but I can't catch up if I don't start! Anyway, it is fun and educational.

dammit

Here's a Photoshop color study of a BG I liked... This isn't my first attempt, but the one I tried a few days ago failed miserably. This one is considerably simpler, so I had an easier time with it, though I kind of wanted to call it quits on that gray.


I hate doing studies digitally because when I am allowed to, I check for errors compulsively and end up taking a hundred million years for accuracy no one cares about.

Anyway, here's mine:


I did this in the spirit of the talented Anne Bush, who is phenomenal and fast at these studies. I, uhh... struggled a bit. I know it'll improve with time. Like Anne, I did use the eyedropper tool. Unlike her, though, my painting is mushier and not as tight in many places. A good exercise, though.

More Mickeys on the way, been doing them, but it's almost 5am and I'm a dingus for staying up this late.

Trying to redeem myself

I was drawn to do this study because it is so ridiculously constructed. And it's big and relatively easy to read.

It looks like his cranium is stretched, pulled forward. Fattened, I guess.
I am trying to hammer it into my skull not to tone down contrasts. I think I'm getting better, but not quickly. It's like my brain knows, but my hand and eyes forget. Maybe I'm just being too impatient... Oh, woops, I forgot to give him his other pair of whiskers. Haha.

BONUS CRAP:
I want to slowly bring in more non-study stuff to this blog, as I am slowly integrating new, learned stuff into my outside work. This is a really painful process because, frankly, I'm embarrassed. I need to stop being so shy about it and face the music when my art sucks.

So here's some nonsense I did for job #2, the library gig. First thing is just a silly little banner-comic and a follow-up comic; the idea of the 'research fairy' bringing bad results vs. the individual research appointment was given, but I did my own thing with it. It's sorta fun, I like the buck-toothed girl.

I also kinda wanted to show these to maybe get some feedback on the colors? Colors are really the focus of the rest of the stuff posted here (aside from the sketches, obviously). Not so much construction because that really isn't the look I was hired for with this stuff.




This is other stuff for the same gig. This is just stuff for a little sequence for the curriculum resource center (place with lesson plans, kid's books, and other teachery stuff).

I like the drawing of the fox guy. Believe it or not, I was sketching a lot messier a year ago. Hopefully this continues to clean up with time.

Trying to figure out colors. I work really disastrously and then spend time refining. Is that a decent process? How do professionals work?


More refined version of the color/compositon test for one of the drawings... Some things I could do without. I don't know. But I'm mostly asking for color feedback. How can I make my colors more warm, appealing, candy-like? It's mostly the bunny I'm taking issue with. I kinda want to make her not gray, but there's already too much brown, too.

Tonight is a night of self-doubt, apparently!

ANOTHER BONUS:

I forgot to upload this one ages ago!