30DDC: Days 8 and 9

Day 8


This challenge was to draw my favorite animated character.  I am not a big cartoon watcher, so decide to go with my favorite graphic novel character, one of the Endless, from Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" comics?  Which Endless? The Sandman himself, of course.  Good ol' Morpheus.
Drawing time: 4 minutes (two to sketch, two to ink it in with a paintbrush).

Day 8


On the eighth, I was to illustrate my favorite TV show.  Once upon a time, that would have been a grumpy and sarcastic doctor with a cane, but I think that show has gone downhill in the last couple season (House MD, if you don't know to what I'm referring).   I am now in favor of a much older, but much younger-looking doctor.  The Doctor.

And in case you didn't know, I take all my photos in my iPhone and email them to myself, because I am too lazy to do it any other way.  So please excuse the somewhat mediocre lighting.

30DDC: Days 5, 6 and 7

Day 5 


The day five challenge was to draw my best friend. Sadly I could not find a great picture of her, so after several frustrating attempts, you're stuck with this.  She has lovely eyes, kind and always laughing.
Drawing time: Minus failed attempts, three minutes.

Day 6


Day six's challenge was to draw my favorite book character.  I found this a challenge as (a) I love a lot of books and have no one favorite character, let alone a single favorite book and (b) most of the characters I do love have already been rendered somehow.  So I opted for Yvaine from Neil Gaiman's "Stardust."  Obviously, this is my version and not Claire Danes.
Drawing time: 10 minutes

Day 7


Yesterday's illustration was to draw my favorite word.  Funnily enough, I already have the word, "serendipity" tattooed on my leg.  I took the challenge to literally mean design typography rather than draw the meaning of the word.  I really enjoyed this one and thought my little font came out quite nicely especially for not bothering to design it properly (measuring serifs and all that).
Drawing time: 15 minutes (I had to go back and redo some of the spacing before I inked it in and it's still      not perfect).

30DDC: Day 4

Yesterday's challenge was to draw my favorite place. I spent most of the day overthinking this one.  Was I to draw Copenhagen, one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, or Disneyworld, where my husband  and I spent our honeymoon?  Should I draw the beaches of Sarasota or the Carolina mountains?  Then I realized I was thinking about it all wrong and realized there are two places I love to be the most: either in bed with my husband as a pillow, the puppy at our feet, watching a movie; or in my studio, art supplies surrounding me, music drifting from my iPod.  

My husband is harder to draw than a desk so I opted for the later.  By the time I made this decision, it was nearly midnight, so this ended up being a very rough drawing.  Too much time thinking not enough time drawing.

Estimated drawing time: 5 minutes.

30DDC: Day 3

Day 3


Day three's theme is favorite food. I love sweets, but especially eclairs.  We have this amazing bakery here in Charlotte called Amelie's and every time I am nearby I have to stop in and grab one, and usually a salted caramel brownie, too.  Pastries make me very, very happy.

30DDC: Day 1 and Day 2

Day 1 


The first challenge was to do a self-portrait.  I took one of my favorite photos of from my wedding and drew from that (and, of course, took out all the 'bad' parts).  My husband referred to this sketch as the 'Disney princess' version of me.  I am totally happy with that description.
Total drawing time: about 15 minutes

Day 2


Day two's challenge was to draw my favorite animal.  I love my little black kitty and spent quite awhile trying to draw her specifically before I realized how effing hard it is to draw a black cat.  And since I would like to actually enjoy this challenge, rather than ending up hating it, I finally just did a simple stylized version of a cat.
Total drawing time:  20 minutes, if you include all the failed drawing of my cat; 3 minutes if counting just this illustration.

The Thirty Day Drawing Challenge

For any of you that follow my Facebook , which has been around about ten times longer than this blog, you know that once upon a time I attempted a 365 day drawing challenge, where I drew something every day for a year.  If you know that, you probably also know I only made it about 100 days.

Well, I decided to try something like that again, except on a much smaller more manageable scale.  Thirty days, with a list of things I have to draw.  Here, dear readers, is the list:

I wish I knew where this originally came from, but I don't so sadly I cannot credit it, but I found it via Pinterest.   I shall be posting these here, on a mostly daily basis (just because I do a drawing every day, doesn't mean I'll have time to upload it right away).  I will also link to here from my Facebook and Twitter.  Feel free to play along!

This starts tomorrow and continues through the day before Halloween.

Illustration Friday #4

This week's theme for Illustration Friday is 'launch.'  The first thing I thought of upon reading this was a watercolor and ink painting I did several years ago of several people in flight on great wings over the ocean.  However, the painting is long sold (or given away, perhaps), and also, I don't believe in using old work for a challenge like this, feeling the whole point is to make something new, so I did a little sketch of just one person, on great wings.

'Launch'

 You'll be pleased to note, this week, that I waited until good light to photograph the illustration, and so it's not all yellowy.  It actually took a lot longer to draw than I expected, because it had been so long since I've done much figure drawing, but I think it turned out decently for something done at 1 am while I was lying in bed (which, so far, is how I've done all my Illustration Friday stuff...but I'm hoping to move past that soon enough, because it would be hard to use paint in bed).

Illustration Friday #3

The prompt for this Illustration Friday  is 'swept'  The very first thing that came to mind was an image of a woman in heavy skirts, all Rococo and beautiful, sweeping down a hall.

So that's what I drew.  Once again, I apologize for the poor picture coloring, but I always get so impatient to get these uploaded when I draw them (always late at night) that I can never wait until good daylight.

Illustration Friday #2

The theme for this week is Shadows.  Without further ado, my illustration.

Just a reminder, you can link to other artists' variations on a theme at www.illustrationfriday.com.