a passtime in picture format
 

I had this odd notion of starting up another art thread since the predecessor was obliterated in the crash [yay], and what do you know, here I am yet again.

I've worked with quite a variety of mediums including conté, charcoal, graded pencils, painting [acrylic, oil, watercolours], pencil crayons, photography [traditional SLR, digital], photoshop type things, plaster sculpting, plaster cloth, printmaking [softolium woodcut, plexiglass intaglio], and scratchboard to name a bunch.

I'll attempt to keep it interesting, but I can't promise you'll like anything. all I ask is that you respect me by not stealing any of my work or using it without my permission [why you'd want to, I don't know but it has happened in the past] or leaving useless spammy comments. I appreciate feedback and critisms if you care to, but they aren't manditory.

:savepoint: INDEX :savepoint:

Drawing:
pencil
jessica alba

coloured pencil
kate winslet | photo version
matriarch

Fashion Design:
formal length
prom dress
embroidered dress
corset lace dress

knee length
lace dress
mix dress
butterfly dress

Painting:
acrylic
1 | 2 | 3 | 4

digital
michelle branch

Photography:
digital
oak trees
refraction
soldiers
structure
swing set

Sculpture:
metal 1 | 2
wood 1 | 2

Sketches:
crosshatch study
jackie
rose woman
yuna

Other:
character design - the newbies
scratchboard - celtic knotwork
scratchboard - abstract
wallpaper - muse

I guess I'll start this off with some scratchboard work. both panels are meant to go together as a diptych, one traditional and one abstract. the traditional panel is an original celtic knot design. the border itself is one line, the upmost horse is the line that goes all over the place, and the other horse is it's own line aswell. proper celtic knots are one line and one line only, but I'm no monk, so I made three!

the abstract panel is just meant to represent the same composition and mirror the subtle order vs chaos theme... which I totally made up on the spot. >_>

I can't really find much to criticise about these (sorry) but I am curious as to how you etch such intricate patterns onto the scratch board without a single slip-up. Is there some kind of template you have to create beforehand and then overlay it to use as a guide? I'd also like to know what special tool (if any) you use to make the scratches.

oh there were slip ups, but thankfully a fine point black marker blends well with the black layer >_>

I started by making basic sketches of things I wanted to incorporate into the design, and once I had a good idea of what to do I got out a piece of graph paper and made the final plan on that. here's the final sketch. graph paper is a godsend for stuff like this because it allows you to keep your lines relatively the same size and keeps everything more accurate looking. after that was done I used transfer paper, which is essentially the white version of carbon paper, to transfer the design onto the scratchboard. you put the transfer paper under your drawing, the scratchboard goes under that, then you just trace over your design and the residue on the transfer paper gets pressed onto the scratchboard leaving an eraseable copy of your design.

once that's all done, all you do is scratch away the black layer in the areas you want to be white. it's a little tricky when you're trying to remember which parts of the line are supposed to go over or under, and that's where I had to use the black marker sometimes if I accidently scratched away where a line was meant to be. the scratch tool that I used looks something like these by the way. annnd once you're done that, basically all that needs to be done is to erase any extra residue from the carbon paper if it wasn't scratched away in the design.

wowee that was long.


here's a few dress designs I finished not too long ago. I despise how grainy pencil crayon shows up when you scan it, so I attempted to edit it in corel photopaint by tinting and removing noise. ignore the obviously bad job I did on some of them :p

I think the lace dress is really pretty because I was years ago browsing wedding dresses (hey, don't even GO there :P ) and I saw one that had a similar style in a creamy beige. It also had (funnily enough) some kind of flowery, celtic patterning on it in a darker woody brown, which could add some colour into your existing design. My sisters know all about making dresses, I sadly haven't much knowledge on that subject >_<. The second girl reminds me of someone I used to know, guess who :P.

another quick query about the scratchboard work; the sketch on graph paper, was that free-hand or did you use some geometry tools to assist you? It would be amazing if you did that by hand :O.

I haven't visited your previous threads, but I was able to see some of your art before, and since I don't know anything about you and all, can I ask if you're taking up art school or something? Cause most of the art guys in this thread that I know are taking up some kind of art major, and the only reason I find someone to do what you do is either they're taking up art, or they just posses amazing skills that they need an outlet for it.

Wow, I really love the fashion sketches! The drawings themselves are very well done. As for the designs, my favorite one was the Mix Dress. The flowers were a nice touch. It's something that I would love to wear one day. :D I also have to point out the shoes. I love the see-through quality of the ruffle.

And the lace dress--it's gorgeous!

Yay nice to see threadosity is back! Im liking the red/black dress, I think it's cool^^

I think you should consider going into fashion design, you know? Last I heard you weren't entirely sure what you wanted to do at college etc, I think it might be something to consider. You obviously enjoy it and have alot of skill at coming up with ideas for designs!

ulysses - [avoids wedding dress topic lolol] this is one I just wanted to look simple, clean, and elegant. I could definitely see adding flower patterns to it though, that would look pretty nifty. I unfortunately don't know how to sew just yet, so I'm not very familiar with dress making. it's not so difficult to learn I'm sure, but I really don't want to buy nice material for dresses like this and not be 100% confident in what I'm doing. nice dress material is expensive ;_;. I think I know who you're talking about... though, I actually used two pictures of Jessica Alba as references for the face and hair. funn times. and, yah aside from the ruler for straight lines and tracing paper for the repetition of the border knot, the scratchboards were all freehanded. you just count the squares and follow the lines, and you can fool anyone into thinking that you're talented XD

vemp - well I'll be starting university next fall [I just got a letter of acceptance from York University in the mail yesterday ^_________^]. I'll be going for a bachelor of fine arts honours degree majoring in, well, fine arts. my high school had an amazing art program though, so I've learn quite a bit over the past 4 years because of that.

elwe - aww thankyou. the mix dress is my favourite too. I actually got the inspiration for it from a dream. apparently I had designed a dance costume for a friend of mine, and she showed it to me in the dream and I'm like... I did that? cool. so yah when I woke up the next day I got out my sketchbook and came out with something like that. this is actually the original one, but since I tend to design clothes for myself as things that I would like to wear, I decided to redo it so that the dress was longer, since I'd be very uncomfortable wearing something that short.

vida eterna - haha thanks... I thought about going into fashion design, but the problem with that is I'd have to take a specialized degree before anyone would even consider looking at my portfolio. I didn't want to do that, mostly because when I thought about it, I really don't want other people wearing my clothes and also because I didn't want to end up in a deadend market where I don't have the proper qualifications for something else should I change my mind about being a designer. though the degree is probably still a bachelor of arts, which is a pretty flexable degree in itself, but I think I belong more in the fine arts. fashion design is really just a hobby, not really a passion. lately I'm thinking art directing would be pretty fun, but I'm still not 100% sure. taking a bachelor of fine arts degree program leads to a crapioli load of possibilities, so I think I'll be fine and dandy with that :)



just a few more dress designs to add to the crop. I have now run out of new designs to show you, so I'll switch to something different for the next batch of attachments. you all get to writhe in suspense over what that could be [:rolleyes:].

anyways!
1. I designed my prom dress.
2. photo of the actual dress that my mother made based on my design. the skirt is folded in half width-wise just to look tidier in the picture.
3. hypothetically, if I were to go to the academy awards someday... >_>...
4. not quite the colour I was going for, but hey you can't always win.

As always your art is fan-bloody-tastic. Woot for the new thread.

I really like that knotwork piece. Nice job on that. =)

Also, those are some good dress designs. My favorite was the embroidered dress. Can't wait to see more of your work.

I love your artworks too, especially the dresses. They're very cute and original. Also, your mom did a lovely job with the prom dress. ^__^

So. I would, without question, wear your designs if you ever did decide to pursue it professionally. Here are my observations:

You can tell you were trained as an artist and not a designer because your models have faces. Not only faces, but moods and expressions.

Dear lord, the hands on the embroidered dress model are huge.

If you want the feet to look right, shade the arch on the inside of the foot a little darker than you had been. If you look on the feet of the mix dress, it almost starts to look like she's got two lefts.

I couldn't figure out from the prom dress drawing what the crisscross was supposed to be, but I love it on the finished dress. Why are there no pictures of you wearing it.

The lips on the mix dress are incredibly well done. Incidentally, she's my favorite; the hair is perfect, and I love the dress. And the shoes. And the necklace. But I like the corset dress necklace the best.

The texture of the abstract scratchboard is awesome.

=D

omagnusprime - thankya muchly, sir. <3

rydia - I don't believe I've seen you in here before, thankyou for the comment! I am quite partial to that one too, I think it's my favourite out of the formal length dresses so far.

summoneryuna - I'm glad you like them, thanks. I'll pass the compliment along to my mum too =D

nadienne - wowee it's nadi. if it were possible for me to become reasonabley successful at dress making, oh how I would enjoy that. I'm glad you approve too. I use random prom dress sites to gather reference pictures of models in a variety of poses so that I can design things without having to use the same generic poses over and over. I think that helps with giving them moods and character. I was actually pretty happy with them when they were just sketches, and once I inked them I thought "wow I actually did this right for a change". then came the colouring, and well, that's when the flops appear.

I know what you mean about the shading, but unfortunately I haven't figured out a way to get a natural skin colour going and properly shade at the same time without using black. maybe I need to do the shading part first, and then add that abominable "skin colour" after instead of the other way around. blarg. ahaha oh my, you're right. those are almost worse than manhands on the embroidered dress. I think I originally made them too small first. it figures :p. thanks for the comment, I really appreciate it~



next batch is of the digital persuasion.

1. a desktop background I made featuring the band Muse. middle lyrics are from "Blackout" and the lyrics on the right are from "Sing for Absolution", both of which are off the Absolution album.
2. this is a major oldy, back from the days of the art battles in TCC before the crash. the theme for this one was online gaming. it's not exactly aesthetically pleasing, but it makes me smile so I still like it.
3. this one is ANCIENT. it was my very first digital painting, done completely in photoshop. it's not much of an achievement though, as I pretty much just used the eyedropper tool and worked very closely with the reference picture. it's supposed to be Michelle Branch, if you didn't make that connection from the file name. =p

I certainly remember those second two, though they are, as you say, from way back. I always liked the Michelle Branch one, but then that may because I always liked Michelle Branch (show's it must be good either way ^^).

New stuffs please. :p

Haha I love that art battle picture, brings me back! People should get those art battles up and running again. Even if it's not competitive just something to get people going. They were fun.

The Michelle Branch pic was always one of my favs. You said you did it only with mouse right?
All of those dress pics are also good, especially the mix one.
Keep it up, I hope to see more ^_^

I really enjoy your clothing designs! They're very elegant and simple - I like them alot :3!

(now it's time to go grab a streamstress and start your own line or something... MUHAHAHAHA MONEY!!! $__$)

omagnusprime - patience, sir, patience. I'll post some new stuff now, albeit it's nothing impressive. BUT IT'S NEW!

vida eterna - yah they were pretty funn, but I think we'd need a better way of organizing them since it eventually just became the art battle forum with random art threads. oh hay, maybe if does get up and running again, we can ask for a subforum?

shenlon - oh yah, forgot about that. just the plain ol' mouse. I still haven't ventured into the relm of tablets, but then photoshop doesn't work on this computer anymore, so that would be the main reason. also, I vaguely remember you. nice to see you again~

luckee cookie - luckeeeeee. thankya, I'm glad you like them. I would love so very much to make the mix dress. if I could only make one, I'd atleast want that one. <3



I was a peer helper in an art class during my last semester at high school, and at some point I was asked to make a very quick example of how they should go about doing their paintings. I just did a quick progressive example over four canvases. their assignment was to do a surrealist painting, so I figured I'd make the example that way too. it's acrylic paint on canvas board.

The acrylic painting is very nice. How big is it? It needs cast shadows, but only an example eh? I love warm color schemes. :p

I remember that Michelle Branch piece. It's also impressive that it was only done with a mouse, and the eye is especially good. As a whole, the picture is nicely done and minor awkward parts like her right eyebrow aren’t very noticeable.

I love the embriodered dress. It's simplicity and elegance are amazing!

Your Michelle Branch painting was stunning. WOW.

WOW X 30 :p

Hey hey,

I really like the prom dress one. If you actually get it made you'll have to post some photos.

Also, we should get some sort of art battle going again. Although somebody else should head it up aside from me this time. With school being so busy, I just don't have the time to devote to something like that anymore.

Glad to see you're keeping your skills up. Pretty pictures as always!

That prom dress looks fantastic, ava! You should go pro!!!

Hun, somehow you always seem to amaze me. You have such creative ideas unlike so many people. Its absolutely admirable.^_______^ I envy your talent so much!
You Dress designs look simple yet so original and elegant.=D ... You should design me something lol:p

~~~By the way, congrats on being accepted in the college place... I didnt pay attention to the name but lol, Im happy for you^_^*huggles*

~~~ AND I miss talking to you on MSN.. we never talk!;__;

magi - yah just a quicky example. it's actual size is 8'x10'. I'm quite partial to the warm colours too. :)

rydia - it's probably due to the softness of the whole thing. I imagine if it was a fully detailed painting, it'd be much much worse because you can't fall back on the mood to pull everything together even if it's not totally accurate.

elwe - I'm glad you liked it... haha I think after that painting [the first ever], I got progressively worse. I finished one other one, sort of, and started another one after that and they're both pretty terrible in comparison to the first.

methegelfing - I did post a photo of it... it's in the same post as the attachment for the original prom dress design. silly. art battles would be pretty fun I think, but even though I do have the time to organize them, I'm lazy, I don't really want to haha. it really should be it's own subforum though, so if anyone wanted to organize it I'd say ask staff about making a subforum for it if there was enough interest generated in the idea. it'll keep the regular art threads from getting bombarded with contest threads. thanks for the comment~

angel - oh I would if I could. thanks for the vote of confidence though. :p

little yuna - eeee little yuna's back <3! aww thanks... actually I'm almost finished a drawing of Yuna in her wedding dress. I'll dedicate it to you, how about that haha. I'm not always on msn as often as I used to be, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for you. we haven't talked in so long. catching up is a must. glad to see you back!



this next batch is just some typical digital photography. I am by no means great at this, I just like to take pictures when I see the opportunity for one. I really like photographing trees, just because there are so many interesting compositions no matter what angle you look at it from. light reflections/refractions are something that usually catches my eye as well.

soldiers and structure are photographs of sculpture works by a canadian artist Victor Tinkl, a very remarkable man, and by god does he have an interesting property. if you ever get a chance to see his work, I suggest you take it. the last shot of the swing set was purely accidental. I was playing on a swing set and snapped a shot while I was swinging. I love it when nature makes the composition for you :'D

the camera used was a Canon Powershot A40 with 2.0 megapixels. nothing astounding, I can assure you of that.