Monday, January 18, 2016

The Ancient World: Sketches and In-Progress Shots

For The Ancient World project I chose to portray the fabled tree spirits/goddesses such as dryads or the British goddess Nemetona.

These first two sketches are preliminary sketches done on my Ipad. I did a few others but these two were the most relevant to my project.  



The next step is to get it down on to paper and lay down color. I chose to do the piece in mostly colored pencil, but because I really did not feel like coloring in the entire background, I went in and laid down some watercolor as a basecoat.




Next is on to the actual colored pencil!

Monday, January 11, 2016

Gathering Research for a Visual Project - A Year of Art

This topic was covered extensively in my first semester of college. It is a very important skill, and one that, in my experience, does not get talked about enough.

Now, the best way to start is with a very broad topic (ex. The Ancient World). In my experience, if the first thing in your mind is extremely narrow (ex. Zeus) your project is likely to be less creative and perhaps more expected. My method is not the only one, but it is the best way that works for me.


Step One


Google your broad topic. Look at the images that pop up and the articles. If your topic is historical, scientific, ect. you might want to use Google Scholar to find online articles that are more relevant to your topic. You also may want to search for books in your local library or if you belong to an organization (high school, college, ect.) that subscribes to online databases, use those too!

Collect the pictures and blurbs from what you read that are interesting or inspiring. You could use a notebook, a binder, a powerpoint, or even a Pinterest board (remember these can be made secret if you don't want people to know what you're working on) for this. Whatever you choose, make sure to collect all your research in the same place.

After doing preliminary research, you should have a few vague ideas in your head. Write them down! Keep them in the same place you're keeping your research. Even if you choose to only follow one idea, these can serve as inspiration for later projects.

Step Two

The next step is to put your ideas on paper and narrow down on what you want to do. What does this mean? Sketch! I prefer paper because I seldom use digital as a medium (something I am trying to change this year) but if you prefer to use a digital medium for your sketches, go for it!

Ask yourself, "What am I most excited about creating?", "Is my idea plausible?", "How would I implement this?", "What medium will best convey my idea?", "Can I reasonably obtain this medium?", "Do I have enough time to create my piece?"

After asking yourself these questions, you should have some idea of what idea(s) you really want to do and what idea(s) that are plausible to do. If these two categories line up, you're golden! If not, you may want to reevaluate how you want to execute your project. Maybe do a few more sketches or consider another medium.

Step Three

This is another research step. Now that you have a specific idea in mind, find artist who explore the same topic or whose style you may want to incorporate into your piece. If you feel you need more textual research, feel free to find more.

It's time to create your piece (or more likely, a draft). Draw, paint, sculpt however you want to create your piece.

This was a piece that I created for a class based off the prompt Wilderness/Wild. I followed my original plan, do it in pastels and on smallish paper (10x12). However by the end, I didn't like the final product. It looked overworked and didn't have the style that I was aiming for.

This leads us to the final and optional step.


Step Four (Optional)

If you've created a piece you're happy with, congrats! You don't need to do this step. However if you were like me and was disappointed with what you created this step is for you. Reworking a piece. Step away from it for an hour, a day, maybe even a week, however long it takes for you to look at it with fresh eyes.

When you can look at your piece like someone else did it, you're ready to assess what went wrong. If you think it looks boring, maybe it could be that the composition is off or perhaps you used a very familiar size of paper. If it looks overworked, maybe you used the wrong medium to create the effect you wanted.

In my revision of Wilderness/Wild, instead of pastels I used oil paint and (gessoed) 18x20 sized bristol board. I did use pastels in the background to give it more atmospheric perspective. It gave me more of the illustration/ Brother's Grimm fairytale book look.



For this project, I only had to do one revision to obtain my desired effect. You may have to do even more. However, during this process, you are strengthening your skills and also creating different pieces with different strengths. In the end, you'll be able to see your progress and a cool collection of artwork.  

Friday, January 8, 2016

I'm in Chincoteague!

So as the title says, I am currently in Chincoteague to finish up my winter break. Pictures will be posted in realtime on my Instagram account and throughout next week when I get back home.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

New on Etsy

Tornado's Legacy is finished and listed on Etsy! Here is a link to his listing.

I now take credit, debit, and Etsy gift cards!







Monday, January 4, 2016

Watercolor Animals now on Society6

Thanks Kristian for introducing me to this website!

Society6 is similar to the website CafePress, except it seems more geared to artists. I have recently uploaded the digital fox watercolor that I posted yesterday. I have also uploaded a horse watercolor as well.

The cool part about this website is that not only can you order various sized prints of this artwork, you can get Ipad cases, T-Shirts, mugs, laptop skins, throw pillows, and many other products.




I plan on creating more watercolor animals and will be posting them on Society6. You can always access my Society6 page through the widget on the sidebar. Check it out!

I should also be posting a new custom on Etsy by Wednesday so keep an eye out for that as well.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Some Photoshop Practice

So I decided to get in some practice with Photoshop. This is what I created -



I used this tutorial to create the watercolor effect. It's now the home screen of my Ipad. 

If there is anything you want me to write about let me know!

Saturday, January 2, 2016

A Year of Art: The Ancient World



Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome...these the first few names that popped into my head when I think of the ancient world. These civilizations have a rich history and culture (I'm personally partial to the myths of these civilizations). Most have also produced a rich collection of art pieces that can be seen in museums around the world.

Some examples of art from these cultures -

Egyptian

Greek


Roman
Some ideas to inspire you:
  • Create a model/drawing of a building based on Greek and/or Roman architecture
  • Illustrate a myth
  • Create your own cuneiform seal
  • Create your own hieroglyphic tablet 
Read some myths, look at some art, learn some new historical facts and then create your piece! The sky is really the limit.

If you need some more inspiration check out my Pinterest board Art Inspiration 

Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy New Year!

So many awesome things happened this year. I officially opened my Etsy shop, I attended Pony Penning, and last but certainly not least, I began college at Moore College of Art & Design as an Art Ed major.


And while 2015 was an awesome year, I plan on making 2016 even better! I go back to college in two weeks and begin my intro to Art Ed. course. I also am organizing an art show at my high school to show off the talent of the art department.

I have made several resolutions this year but the one I want to share with is art related. Sometimes when I'm at college, it is hard to make my own art. I just do the projects assigned to me and that causes a minor burnout. So this year I'm challenging myself to create at least one piece of art for myself each month. And I'm inviting you to join me!


Each month has a theme. Where you take the theme is up to you:

January - The Ancient World
February - Dreamlike
March - New Life
April - Growth
May - Animals
June - Mythology
July - Feathers
August - The Future
September - Knowledge
October - Remembrance
November - The Modern World
December - Winter

Every month I will post a brief introduction to the theme and some examples that I feel fit the theme (or in the case of January, some art from the cultures being explored). These pieces can be created in any medium, from colored pencil to text. I will be posting my in-progress and finished pieces on here and on instagram using the hashtag #GFSYearofArt. If you participate and post your piece on instagram tag me @gyrfalconstudios and/or use #GFSYearofArt so I can see what you've created! I may even repost my favorites.

More info for this month's theme will be posted tomorrow.

So when I go back to college I won't be able to work much on models, but rest assured there will be other art and life oriented posts! Let me know if you want me to talk about anything specifically.