Tweety and Piggies

I am trying to be mindful of not toning down contrasts. I think I just gotta, well, produce.


I don't have my tablet right now, so the lines are ridiculous. Anyway, I think my inaccuracies are becoming less, but heck if I can shake subtle mistakes in thrust. Notice that the fingers are not to the right enough (not enough pushing), but where I tried to exaggerate the contrast, the forefinger is way too far back. I just really messed up Tweety's little hand-- like I was just making up what it looked like instead of actually observing. Maybe I'm going brain-dead.

My new job is very good. I hope that I can keep at it there and quit my awful job, where I'm dead for the night after my shifts. It'd be very good for my productivity (and wallet).

I won't have a scanner over the weekend, though (visiting home), but I will start several studies. I already have two (aside from this Tweety one I just finished). I think I'm going to start having a lot of studies going at once from now on.

Here are some hilarious Tweety images for those who love to have their eyes bleed:

I call this one "the Mom e-mail forward" model.



When did Tweety become a girl, anyway?



My personal favorite. Words fail.

Lost in the Andes!

The strawberry stain is the focal point. Woops.

There are a dozen little problems with this, I felt them as I was making them, but I think I'd rather go exercise than belabor over it. Most of the problems are proportional, and I toned down the contrasts. I'm gonna learn how to avoid doing that if it kills me.

A million excuses, minimal results. But a big entry!

I have been a busy gal, lately. It seems like hitch after hitch is coming my way. So, uh, here is a big ol' post for the month of May.

I vowed to myself to keep on a regimen of six hours of practice every day I don't work, and, well, so far this summer it hasn't been successful. I am changing it to two hours of practice every day, whether or not I work. I read in a book about practice and talent that it's more effective to keep practice deep, meaningful, and focused for a short amount of time than to stretch it out. Apparently people get burned out after more than an hour and a half or so. I can make it the full 2 every day, I know I can.

Anyway, so here is a laundry list of all the junk that has prevented me from doing a lot:
Food poisoning
Finals
Vacation
Losing my pencil box
My entire Adobe suite being spontaneously dysfunctional
Really bad malware/virus on my computer
My birthday weekend (last Sunday, the 31st)! I am now 22!

Here are some fun photos of me pestering some funny animals at the zoo. I got to pet the kangaroo and the trained kitty because my friend trains animals for the show!

The Columbus zoo also has a really great Lorikeet exhibit, wherein you can feed them juice in cups so that zoo patrons are deceived into thinking the birds actually like them!



Kangaroos feel like microfleece. And they poop pellets, too.

Apparently I kiss at every other animal I'm allowed to get close to! (Thanks to Jory for such a wonderful day!)

Also I just want to show off my new dress.



Okay, so, now what I'm sure most people are here for: studies!

I'm gonna start with the bigger, slower ones. First, here's a study of Bugs.



This is my most recent, done mostly two days ago, but finished today. Boy, can you tell I am rusty!! Shame on me, big time. However, I finally got some new blue pencils. You can't see the construction as easily, but it sure did make it less of a greasy affair than the stuff later in this post.


I forgot to say: TOO MUCH NEGATIVE SPACE ON BUGS' HEAD!

Tons of nitpicks. I really messed up that head's angle and evened out some features. Also, notice that I lost my custom font based on my handwriting because of the malware issues... oh dear. Hopefully I can find it in the files I managed to save.

Here is a comic cover study. I liked this drawing of Fox and Crow on John's blog:


What a charming drawing. I notice, however, that I made some proportional errors. I think, however, what's more pressing are the errors I made with the directional thrust of the characters. The fact that Fox's head is too big is not helped by the fact that his line of action is off. See, here's what it should be:


Compared with what it is....


Woops! See! Again, toned down. Grr.

Well, anyway, here's a hodgepodge of selected Preston Blair studies. They have almost no regard for finish. I was trying to get quicker. I also didn't have a good choice of pencils because some of them were done on vacation (during the horrible era of the Lost Pencil Box) so you can see me dealing with lots of greasy lead and erasers. Yuck...










These are from pretty much all throughout May. I have more, but believe it or not, they are even messier and quicker. So this is just a chunk of them. This month I will be much more diligent.

Oh, speaking of this month, I have a second, temporary, job, which is gonna suck away 20 more hours of my week. Yikes. I am going to stick to my guns as much as I can on the 2 hours a day thing, but it might be hard on days I have to work both jobs. We'll see!

Bad weekend

Jerry is a Neanderthal in my drawing. Check out his lunging cranium.



I got food poisoning! I actually did this before the last one I posted, but I don't have anything else to do, so here it is. I think I barfed so hard that I got some acid in my brain, because I can't focus too well.

Hope everyone out there readin' had a better weekend, with less vomit!

Eisenberg study 2

Left hand looks ridiculous, arms are too low, Tom's tummy is too fat (there's more emphasis on his chest in the original), some problems with the background (the pipe is the wrong shape, the top of the mantle has angle problems... and, for some reason, I messed up the straight vertical line on the left side of the fire place... but I am getting faster at these. I don't know about better, per se, right now. It's frustrating, because I can see all the problems. I'm happy I am at least better at that part.

I think I'm just not as focused because of school stuff. I will be back on track and on top of things when the semester's done.

Probably won't be many more for the next couple of weeks, things are getting to that end-of-semester crunch time.

Eisenberg quickie

I started this when I had a headache last night, and finished it today on lunch break. Lots of mistakes, but I don't have much energy to crit tonight. Rest assured that I see that the head is too big and his line of action angle is wrong, legs and a few other features are too small, the eye on the right doesn't wrap too well, etc.




I just wanna pull his foot out so that his leg is anywhere near as extended as it's supposed to be.

Haha, I don't even know why I am showing this. Maybe just because I find the arms so hilariously big and awkwardly attached. The next one will be better. I am sorry, Eisenberg. I hope I have not angered you and all the other cartooning gods.

Another spare-time study

Isn't this picture beautiful?

Holy crap, I just look at it and I want to draw!

So, that's what I did. Couple breaks at work, and a work day one of my classes.


I was pleased with how much easier crazy, seemingly complex drawing is when you start to practice construction and hierarchy! It felt good. BUT...


I dulled down the pose! Which is sad because Bugs' face is just full of life and spunk. Tisk tisk. It should stretch, commit more. I made the base of his neck too thick. You can't really see it too well but I have the shape drawn underneath. It sort of got lost under a patina of pencil and eraser. Rest assured that it's there and it's too fat at the base, where it attaches to the body.

There's too much of a gap between the far left tooth and where his mouth starts!

I also think that I assumed his muzzle protruded more.


The angle of Bugs' body and the arch of his back are a little off. Also his tits don't sit right. My red-line is wrong on the bottom of his right boob. It doesn't show the crease on his bra right. Also they're further down on his body than they are in the cartoon.

The top of the head is a little extreme. I didn't make the cranium shape large enough and I don't think his head-fat fits on as tightly. It also doesn't connect as well to the cheek fat in my drawing.

Next time in line: Eisenberg drawings, another coloring book image, continuing to get my ass kicked by animation.