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Browsing Tag

ocean

Plate Coral Maiden

September 4, 2014

It’s been a few since I’ve drawn a chubby mermaid, so here we go!

Done on real paper, with real markers, and real red pencil. Craaaazyyyy. I actually LOVE LOVE LOVE drawing in sketchbooks, it’s just that usually I am at my desk or laptop and photoshop means no messes.

Does anyone else have problems with finishing a sketchbook? I swear I have 40 just laying around randomly with only the first 3 pages filled in. Maybe I just like buying sketchbooks because it makes me think of potential drawings… and I just never get around to them.

ALRIGHT. Quit twisting my arm, I will fill one up this year.

xoxo
-Tracey

A boy & his fish

August 26, 2014

I’ve never done animation. I don’t really think it’s a course Art Center College of Design offers. I was a straight up illustration major. At the time I was attending ACCD (2001-2005), there wasn’t an entertainment track. Publication was celebrated, everyone who was anyone did editorial illustration- or they’d suffer the harrowing hardships that is the fine art gallery world. I never really bought into that whole thing. I loveeee illustration and it’s obviously great. It takes a lot of work to create a story in a single image. Illustration has it’s value, and the skills I learned in the foundations at Art Center were beyond measure. I didn’t want to do editorial though, I am not one for continually trying to sell myself or hitting the streets with constant barrages of self promotion. (I know, I know, I have a blog now; the irony isn’t lost on me that I am self promoting).

Instead of going the editorial route, I wanted to have a “real” job or somewhere I could have some type of security. I have no issues psychologically with being a “corporate artist” in fact I rather enjoy it. I like working for Disney and I like the collaborative nature that a film, animation and gaming bring to artistry. While I am pretty introverted personally, I never particularly held much value in my work as an individual. So while I was at Art Center I changed majors twice to get classes I thought would be more valuable than Illustration 1,2 & 3 along with the other required editorial based courses. Instead I took film classes, storyboarding classes, and 3D modeling classes. In the early 2000’s computer graphics were just starting to get good, the computer was being utilized more and more as an industry medium and physical painting was on it’s way out. So I sort of paved my own way through the education system of Art Center and created what I thought I needed to make it as a corporate artist. I guess I was successful!

Though I don’t do animation I have been trying to get that style in my drawings. I love the fluidity that story artists and visual development artists have in animation. They have such a playful style and their line work and expressive drawings are enviable. Gestural drawings were not all that celebrated at Art Center. Realism and anatomy coupled with technique were definitely emphasized. As a result you end up with that cookie cutter design style you see from the students graduating from ACCD. Not bad obviously because they’re fantastic artists… just sort of stiff.

This mermaid has nothing to do with anything, though it is an animated gif.

Mucha Mucha mucha

August 22, 2014

I had some time on my hands for the first time all week. I am taking tomorrow off of work so that I can make the long trek up the 5 freeway for the annual rafting trip. Every year I participate in Raft 4 Life, a charity event where the proceeds go to fund research for Angiosarcoma (the type of cancer I had). Since I wont have any free time this weekend to draw mermaids, this will be my last post for the week. I think it’s only appropriate to take the weekend off! Enjoy!

Thanks Instagram!

August 21, 2014

I have 100 followers! That might not seem like much in the scheme of things, but I am more than happy to take all of you! Thanks a ton for following cute mermaid drawings Instagram. You’re the best! :) I made you a lil’ something.

Yoga

August 21, 2014

God Yoga is boring. How does anyone legitimately like it? I tried a few moves today thinking “oh, I should have an active recovery day and do some stretching.” I got sleepy in child’s pose and that quickly morphed into falling asleep with butt-in-air pose.

Feminine lines

August 20, 2014

I may have mentioned that I am not a great painter. I LOVE line work though. I was always on my game in a figure drawing class. Contour lines to me are the easiest way to describe a form. I loved doing life drawing, and the more corpulent the model that happier I was to draw them. In my own life I prefer to be fit. I like being healthy and able to run up a mountain if I felt the desire to do so. However something about drawing hips, butts and describing the form in soft shapes makes me happy as an artist.

I like the way this drawing turned out. That’s not something I usually say. I think the simplicity is what makes me happy about it.

Anyway,
Chub on.

Scuba Cat

August 19, 2014

Quick update at lunch. I have a very awesome friend that loves kitties probably even MORE than I do… which I admit is no small feat. I drew her as a mermaid with her scuba kitty Leondegrance. I call him ‘Leondegrance in his underpants’ when I see him in a sing-song fashion or Leotard because he’s objectively kind of a naughty kitty. BUT CUTE, and fuzzy, which is pretty much all it takes for me to like something!

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD

August 18, 2014

So I am entering a two week brainstorm session. This means 8-5 all day meetings around a light table. It means I have NO idea how I am going to draw anything blog related. I guess this is what lunch is for. So in essence I have the next 9 minutes to pump out a drawing, eat lunch and write a blog post. Good thing I am fast. So this is my office. It sums up pretty much exactly how I feel about Mondays. Like… oh you have work to do? Too bad, Ima watch cat videos until my eyes bleed.

This cycle repeats itself every Monday and sometimes Friday. Since I am in an all day meeting THIS Monday, I feel funny and like I might need a hug.

Part of your world

August 15, 2014

Fish Biscuits is the little mermaid that no one wanted to make a movie out of. She has a winning personality though.