Friday 18 July 2014

Dragons and drawing mistakes

Hey Guys. Little extra blog today. Thought this would be good for you guys to see.
Alot of artists will only show work they think has gone well SO i thought people would be interested in seeing my mistakes and how ive worked through them. 
So, this was my first attempt at drawing this dragon. I had a CGI dinosaur called a dracorex for reference material.
after lining out the basic shape i tried to customise it a little so it wasnt a total copy of the dinosaur using reptile references


I went on a short break. When i come back i thought it looked like a friggin' sock puppet!! haha 
So i started again.

 Then the above happened (sorry no the best imagery but you can click it to make it bigger) I feel like the embellishment was forced (the horns) and really dont work. Its mouth it far too tiny for a traditional dragon. Upon researching dragorex, it is a herbivore. So it doesnt need a big mouth. Although it looks dragonlike, it prob wasnt the best reference material for a dragon. And now the point im getting at:
This is the third attempt. Yes i am not happen with the scales but i was practising on drawing scales. The scales dont matter too much anyway as this will be scanned and repainted up in photoshop eventually  so the scales you see now you wont see anymore.
You may notice that the shape of the head has totally changedthis is because i chose my reference pic.
I didnt pick i reptile
my reference pic was a an eel species. Unfortunatly the image itself is off a dead specimen in formaldahyde. So i cant identify the species and the person who originally posted it ddint specify the species! (grr! so if anyone can identify that for me itd be appreciated, drop me a comment or something. I hate not know lol)
Heres the reference pic:


Can you see why i picked it to help me draw a dragon? :) Be awsome to see your opinions so please chat to me about it
By posting this blog i am not saying this is my end result and im happy about it. my point is you dont always have to use the most obvious thing to help with your drawing. Look at everything, see the potential in things. Use your minds eye when looking at anmals and subject matter. Make the "draw what you see"thing on a whole knew level. You need to take the time and stare .... ;)

Hope this helps and get you thinking
Peace
Menja X

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My Shop
Prints for charity:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TalonsCreations?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Support me helping to raise money for orangutan conservation by buying clothing and accessories for charity:
http://jhmenjaart.spreadshirt.co.uk/customize/noCache/1

Charities
Act for Wildlife  http://www.actforwildlife.org.uk/go-orange-for-orangutans/go-orange-2014


Wednesday 16 July 2014

Why i do what i do and charity stuff

Hi guys just thought id do a quick post
I know i havent kept to my Tuesday schedule of a blog and i didnt get to do my extra post.
Starting my new job as a tutor hit my free time hard. Just got my head round the paper work and dedicated time where i could  work on my lesson plans at work but then the internet there dies so ive had to do it at home when i should be drawing. Arrgh! Ive pendrived all documents i need now so that shouldnt happen again.
Anyway, had a think about the projects i have half done at the moment and started thinking how im going to catch up. So ive decided to finish each project one at a time, get them done and ill prob work faster through them and improve quicker.
Im going to start with hand drawing all my sketch dailies challenge back log
run them through illustrator
paint them digitally

With the extra digital paint practise ill prob be able to do my secret aye aye project better so ill do that once i finish my back log

Then ill have a break from digital and finish my gorilla charcoal piece cause its been nearly finished for weeks and that is pretty shameful

I havent been totally unproductive however. Last year i raised money for a charity that worked on orangutan conservation. This year im doing it again.
I have made a logo
Its available on Spreadshirt on multiple products. Spreadshirt take a cut for cost of printing but the rest i am donating to the charity "Act for Wildlife, orange for Orangutans".
Link to shop:

Ill post a link below to the charity. Im also selling charity bands for £1 or your regional equivalent. Get in touch for details on charity bands. Either comment or contact me on social media (details below)

Had someone ask why when im doing traditional drawing practice why i draw animals. Well, adore animals. simple as. Plus i dont find drawing perfectly classically proportioned human folk dull and tedious. Dont get me wrong, i will draw humans i have not an issue with it but when i draw for fun i will be an animal or what i call "interesting" people.
What i mean by interesting is not who they are but like the elderly. All those wrinkles are amazing! I love how the accentuate the face and emotion. People who look like theyve been to hell and back and come out fighting; whose very eyes tell so many stories. I love drawing them! What i dont like it idealistic unobtainable "perfection" holywood airbrush nonsense people; with vacant eyes forced expressions that look more like grimaces pain or illness. Its boring in my opinion. I just dont enjoy it.

When i draw animals however, its like im learning to draw again. The anatomy is new. and there is so many hundreds of species the subject matter is endless. Never mind each individual creature. A tiger will never have the same stripes as another tiger. the wrinkles on on one elephant is different from another. The same as each human individual i different. So thats why i love drawing animals and "interesting people".
The digital stuff im currently working on is for practise purposes. Unfortunatly i dont work in a digital art field (idlove to) but i dont have the necessary skills to do so, so im self-teaching. So i dont care if people say how rubbish i am. Everyone was rubbish at one point. Im learning and i admit that and im proud i am a learner. im not sat in a plateau of unproductivness, im trying to better myself.

So yeah thats my blog for this week.  apologise its it ranty. Im prob ject annoyed at myself for lack of art done this week combined with tiredness lol. Forgive me. ill be back to a more productive and happier blog next week :)
Peace
Menja

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Google+              https://plus.google.com/u/0/117436179098243645186/posts
Deviant art          http://valkrya.deviantart.com/
Email                   jhmenjaart@gmail.com



My Shop
Prints for charity:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TalonsCreations?ref=l2-shopheader-name

clothing and accessories for charity:
http://jhmenjaart.spreadshirt.co.uk/customize/noCache/1



Charities
Act for Wildlife  http://www.actforwildlife.org.uk/go-orange-for-orangutans/go-orange-2014

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Aye-ayes and logos

Heya
Looks like blogging has fallen upon a Tuesday again. May aswel try keep it a regular thing then :) Im going to try to do 2 blogs a week. I keep getting distracted with creating and forget to blog! sorry haha
Been a bit of a mad one this week. Just started my new job officially as a part time Art Tutor to cerebral palsy sufferers. Lovely people. Heartbreaking hearing what people say to them.  :( But im overwhelmed with the paper work atm. its making sense as i look through it but there is tons!!! Just hope i still have time for art when i start the new academic year D: Ill MAKE TIME!! Who needs sleep amiright? :D
Not done any sketch dailies catch up work this week *wrist slap* aswel as sorting new job bits out been working on a logo for a Youtube channel.

Its a Gaming channel for lets plays and First Impressions. Go give him a watch and maybe a like, favourite and a subscribe. He's pretty awesome! Heres the link to LugdunonTG's Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/LugdunonTG
And here is the link to his spreadshirt shop featuring the logo on merch!!
 lugdunontg.spreadshirt.com


I have been doing my own work too! Been drawing ayeaye from every available angle for a project im working on. Its still secret ;) all will be revealed in due time. Ill prob do some more studies of the hands (cause Aye-ayes have pretty freakin awesome hands!)
How awesome is this for a hand?

but here is some of the sketches ive done so far :)







Let me know what you think or if you have any info on Aye-ayes! (i know they use their mentally long finger to tap on the wood to find bugs so dont worry about that fact ;)) deffo one of my favourite animals :D
I know they are prob fairly old now but been watching Zoocs tutorial series. Check them out. was watching it as i was drawing my Aye-ayes. He gives some helpful tips ;)
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=no+bullshit+approach+to+drawing

Getting involved in some charity stuff this year too! Last year i raised money for the conservation of wild orangutans in borneo (possible press releases featuring me on the way) I sold prints, wore orange for an entire and sold wristbands. Check out my etsy ship, i still have some prints from last year left if you want to donate for this year
Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TalonsCreations?ref=l2-shopheader-name
and if you want to check out the charity to see where the money goes check out Act For Wildlife:
http://www.actforwildlife.org.uk/go-orange-for-orangutans/go-orange-2014
And ive registered to help out with Special Effect who help make gaming possible for disabled people. They are awesome. Check them out here:
http://www.specialeffect.org.uk/

Thats it for now guys i think. sorry not as informative as my previous blogs. This weeks been mental! hopefully itll settle down now :D Ill *try* but cant promise a second blog this week. my sketchbook is a cruel mistress haha
Thanks for sticking round and reading my blog though appreciate it :D
Peace
Menja X

Social Media
Instagram             http://instagram.com/jenny_menja_hall_art
Facebook             https://www.facebook.com/JMenjaHArt?ref_type=bookmark
Twitter                 https://twitter.com/MenjaMist
Google+              https://plus.google.com/u/0/117436179098243645186/posts
Deviant art          http://valkrya.deviantart.com/
Email                   jhmenjaart@gmail.com 

Resources

Sketch Dailies          https://twitter.com/Sketch_Dailies
Zoocs no bull shit approach to drawing series https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=no+bullshit+approach+to+drawing

My Shop
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TalonsCreations?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Youtube
LugdunonTG Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/LugdunonTG
LugdunonTG merch  lugdunontg.spreadshirt.com
Zoocs no bull shit approach to drawing series https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=no+bullshit+approach+to+drawing

Charities
Act for Wildlife  http://www.actforwildlife.org.uk/go-orange-for-orangutans/go-orange-2014
Special Effect  http://www.specialeffect.org.uk/

****I am not endorsed or sponsored b any resources. i do not get  paid for recommendations. I recommend resources based on the sole purpose that i have found them useful and wish to pass them on to others who wish to learn :)

Tuesday 1 July 2014

Hard Surface Objects and Poetry

Hey guys. Im so sorry; i need to set regularly blogging days i think so i keep it regular. Keep putting it off as i plan to do things and decide i want to include it in the blog when ive finished it lol.

All good on the college course front, i got on! YAY just sorting trough student finance stuff which UK folks can prob sympathize with haha. And there is some weird legislation details in terms of gaining QTS once ive finished the course which im trying to uncover. No-one seems to know the answer!!! AAAARGH and my third job application seems to be going grand. my application has been forwarded through to be considered to do the 5 day note takers course. Once ive completed that i have the job! Woop. Just waiting on dates for that. So there we go, boring stuff out the way now lets talk Art :D

Ive been taking on a lot of challenge based mini projects this week. These were based from CTRL+Paints Traditional drawing series (links below) , which i few of you know im following along with atm. It started of with drawing 20 Phones. Never realized how many phone types there were! really weird ones. This proved how bad i actually am at drawing mechanical stuff. im too used to organic subject matter. So i think im deffo going to have to do some more still life studies. You work on what you are weakest at. dont get stuck in comfort zones guys, its not good :(!
Heres my pics of my phone sketches:

















As you can see, they are pretty terrible so as i continued through the series, i decided to do 20 still life objects and 20 gesture line  drawings of spoons. Gesture line practice is great thing to do to get a rough skeleton down for your drawing and quickly plan out compositions. The still life stuff was to try and focus on my drawing things with hard edges, as im awful at it haha check them out :)
20 spoons in a gesture based line art style

 
20 random household objects still life observational sketches


I still need to work on it so time to practice loads! YAY I also did some negative space practice but that didnt phot very well (i know most of my photos are a bit crappy at the min, my scanner is dead :( but ill sort that soon hopfully) But what negative space drawing is, is you draw the shapes created by the area around the object. I know that sounds weird, this prob explains it better:
http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodraw/ss/negativespace.htm
But try it out it is pretty useful when planning an image

Ive still been doing my sketch dailies along side this stuff, have a nosy. i will be putting them into illustrator and Photoshop from line work and painting. just hand drawing my back list at the moment :)
Gargoyle. i know it looks a bit Giger-eques (RIP :() but i found it amongst my photos from when i went to France years ago and thought itd be cool

Link!He needs no introduction does he? :)

Anubis

My take on sleeping beauty haha so but i dont know many folks who lie perfectly on the back with their arms folded to sleep. we all drool! haha

Maleficent. got a plan for this one (youll see) it why it looks a bit minimalist

The challenge for this was a luchadore. only one i know is the one Jack Black played in Nacho Libre so here it is :D


Currently im rummaging round in vast collection of fantasy art and animal books for reference for a fire drake. i got so many ideas for it!! hopefully next blog ill have one to show you :D

Im also looking at renaissance art paintings (because they are friggin awesome!) and as a reference pic for an assignment set by Chris Oatley in his magic box. Im not telling what it is, youll either have to wait or go check out his magic box for yourself! and you should cause its one of the best things ive done fore sure (link below)


So thats probably been a bit of a listy very pic based blog today, sorry guys. But i want to finish it on something a bit different. I had a lovely gentleman follow me on Twitter known to me as @rextyler2 this week who was so inspired by my owl drawing (this one: http://instagram.com/p/piZjyyMeYS/?modal=true)
 he wrote a poem as follows:


Your owl is a beautiful soul i can see
He hoots and he scoots from the tallest of tree
I love Mrs owl though
the rodents might say
If i was one of them for my love i might pay
The owl is totem
His soft wings remain 
Silent,in flight the advantage is to gain
Auspicious propitious a most handsome fellow
Who launches in silence 
apparently mellow

 REX TYLER DTM


I love it and i love that something i created inspired someone else to create their own art in their chosen form. Its a big achievement for me and means alot :) So thank you Rex, very much :)

Ill leave it there for today though guys. i hope ive bought a ray of inspiration to you. leave me a comment if you want. opinions are always welcome. if you have any suggestions fo format let em know or ill just keep waffling haha. Speak soon guys
Peace
Menja X

Social Media
Instagram             http://instagram.com/jenny_menja_hall_art
Facebook             https://www.facebook.com/JMenjaHArt?ref_type=bookmark
Twitter                 https://twitter.com/MenjaMist
Google+              https://plus.google.com/u/0/117436179098243645186/posts
Deviant art          http://valkrya.deviantart.com/


Resources

Sketch Dailies          https://twitter.com/Sketch_Dailies
CTRL+Paint                    http://www.ctrlpaint.com/library/
Chris Oatley's Magic Box    http://chrisoatley.com/digital-painting-in-photoshop/
Negative Space              http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodraw/ss/negativespace.htm


My Shop
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TalonsCreations?ref=l2-shopheader-name


****I am not endorsed or sponsored b any resources. i do not get  paid for recommendations. I recommend resources based on the sole purpose that i have found them useful and wish to pass them on to others who wish to learn :)