I added some links on my tumblr header and made a tags page… but I really cannot remember anything else that I tag?? I was so much more organized on my RP tumblr…
Month: November 2015
Favorite color? Would you draw in this color for the rest of your life?
I have never been able to answer this question. I have no favorite, catch-all, 100% best for everything color.
I’m finding more and more that I like the colors of the ninja turtles, though. Red, blue, purple, orange, and green… I think TMNT has influenced me even more than I thought!
If I had to pick 1 color to draw in for the rest of my life, though, I would use blue.
How long have you been arting (schooled/self-taught, etc)?
I have always been drawing, ever since I can remember. One of my earliest memories is being mad at age 3 because SOMEONE put CHALK in the crayon bucket and I bit it to test and BLECK.
In 2nd grade, my dad told me that I would need to learn to get really good at drawing circles, squares, and triangles if I wanted to do art seriously. That’s when I started reading art books and constructing drawings with shapes.
In 7th grade, I applied for an online art archive and was utterly rejected because my stuff was definitely not up to scratch. I was pointed to Tracy Butler’s art and fell in love with art as a means of storytelling. I wanted to get good. Really good.
After that, I took every art class public school had to offer, and filled sketchbook after sketchbook on my own time. Art class was helpful because my teachers forced me to do stuff I didn’t want to do (cross-hatching, life study, learning art history), and it was all very beneficial. They also gave me access to free art supplies that I never would have been able to afford on my own– paint, pastels, illustration board, clay, kilns, etc.
I got accepted to a university in the Animation Major, learned that my arm and procrastination tendencies couldn’t handle it, and switched to Illustration. Color theory and observational drawing weren’t at all new to me, but it was GREAT to study side-by-side with people who actually CARED about it instead of being forced to. And I probably learned more through one semester of advanced figure drawing than I had in any other class.
None of the classwork were things that I couldn’t have learned on my own; art class is not a magical thing. People can take all of the art classes in the world and won’t improve if they don’t consciously practice and observe. But they are great motivators and I am so glad that I took those classes. Even Art History, because man I have a much better appreciating and understanding for the master works now. Context really is everything.
Anyway, I still have a lot to learn, but to answer your question… if we consider 7th grade the starting point, I guess I’ve been doing art “seriously” for… 17 years? OMG…
Now go look at Tracy’s art and be inspired: @lackadaisycats
Are you taking commissions? ヽ(=^･ω･^=)丿
ALAS… no, I am not at the moment. I have a very long post here explaining why, but the “short version” is this:
- I owe too many people art already
- I’m very behind on my personal projects (DANGEROUS CUTE!!!)
And… I can’t really work on either of those right now because I have lymphedema as a side effect of cancer treatments years ago, and have been unable to afford the stuff I need to manage it. Sitting at a desk to do digital art aggravates the condition and puts me more at risk for things like micro tears and blood clots, which could result in death. It’s also really painful, especially after I work an office job for 8 hrs a day, 5 days a week, and usually have to stand for the 30min train ride home.
But hopefully I will be able to afford treatments in the next couple of months, and that will enable me to get back to work on these things, get caught up, start preparing for conventions again, livestream sessions, etc.
This is also why all of my art lately has been really crappy cell phone photos of sketches on paper… because I would have to sit at my desk to use my scanner. Whew.
Thank you for asking, though! When/if I am open for commissions in the future, I will be sure to post here and let you know! 😀
What are your preferred medias/programs?
Digital is much easier on my arm, so when I can get to my desk (not lately because I SERIOUSLY need to get those wraps before I spend any more time at a desk outside of my day job), I favor Paint Tool Sai for sketching/inking and water-color style painting, Autodesk Sketchbook Pro for sketching and markers, and Art Rage for crayon/chalky stuff. I kind of cycle through them in phases for whatever I feel like doing, so it’s all terribly inconsistent… but I DO process all of them through Adobe Photoshop CS6 (or CC if I’m at work) at the end for level and color adjustment.
You can read more about my digital stuff here: http://gabapple.tumblr.com/post/130978403621/hi-sorry-to-bother-you-but-i-was-wondering-what – it has pictures!
For traditional media, I love drawing with ball point pens. But sometimes I prefer 0.5 mechanical pencils. I used to color with prismacolor pencils, but it destroyed my already injured arm… so I tend to stick to markers (prismacolor) when I’m doing “serious” stuff, often blended with just a LITTLE bit of colored pencil (cheap crayolas).
Lately, I’ve been experimenting with brush pens and highlighters and I am LOVING it. They’re way more portable than watercolors, and so much less messy. But once I can be at my art desk, I’d like to do more watercolor and ink wash stuff.
Pens, though. I love messy sketching.
Why cats?
Cats are not my favorite animal. HOWEVER, they translate REALLY WELL into comic form because they are easy to draw, easily recognizable, and very easy to emote with because their entire body is made of a liquid-rubber substance. With fur.
They are also very entertaining to watch and get to know… Cats can act as cool and calm as they want, but they are such slaves to instinct and they need people way more than they pretend to. Really, they’re a great analog for human life and relationships, which is perfect for a comic about my very human life portrayed by anthropomorphic animals.
Exaggerating expressions and reactions is helpful for cartoon art; it’s more believable than the very subtle expressions that real people generally use in normal situations. But since drawings are symbols, the opportunity to really sell the emotion is there. Cats alternate between the extremes naturally already, so why not?!
Plus fuzzy things are great.
If you could do anything right now, regardless of money or distance or health, what would it be?
…At this very moment? I wish I was getting ready to get in a car and go to a movie theater with popcorn and peanut butter m&ms. That sounds so awesome. Is the Goosebumps movie still playing? I really, really wanted to see it in theaters.
Alas, no money, no car, no peanut butter m&ms, so I’m on tumblr instead!
why the scar on gabkitty’s cheek?
THIS… is actually asked a lot. It’s not a scar, it’s just a marking that would not normally occur in actual animals. At least, not asymmetrically like that.
It IS a reference, though, as most of the designs in Dangerous Cute are… and no, it’s not the Nike swoosh, it’s actually the scar on Ashitaka’s cheek from Princess Mononoke. Ashitaka is one of my favorite characters of all time… I wish I was as badass and as good a person as he is.
This is also not the first time that I’ve used that scar as a symbol in character design, either… Back when I roleplayed on Pokemorph MUSH all the time, I had a character named Laura who was a reverse-morph Sandshrew, and had a similar scar.
She was fun to play and had, of course, a super angsty backstory… I’ve since recycled her for use (as her original human self) in other stories; notably as one of Bunny’s cabin mates in my current novel, The Champions of Summer. She also shows up as a minor character in the garbage aLDfM project. She does not, incidentally, reflect the ideals and personality of Ashitaka. Alas!
So there you go!
Or do normal accounts not get asks? Is that just RP/ask tumblrs?
But FIRST… a MEME
Tagged by @skyedream75 (thanks, btw!)
Name – Melissa, but call me Gab. It’s shorter.
Date and Location – November 25th in Salt Lake City, Utah
Sexual Orientation – Demi (and firmly attached to a v wonderful guy)
Place that makes me happy – SIMPLY SUSHI… AND MOVIE THEATERS. Also Barnes & Noble as long as I have starbucks and money. Okay p much I love going to movies and out for dinner and I like some shopping as long as it’s fun browsing in a quiet place.
Favourite movie – It’s a tie between Jurassic Park and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Lion King and Moulin Rouge are also up there.
Wearing – Some kind of… green shirt blouse thing for work and jeans because I am not at work anymore. Also my reading glasses because I stupidly got a laptop with high res display even though I’m very far-sighted.
Last book you read – The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Not even sure why I read it, but I did. Before that it was Shiver.
Tag ten people you want to get to know better!
@cloverkite, @mamodewberry, @artsyfartsywhatnot, @trypchangeling, @anyahatesbunnies, @pixel-spooky, @askashapeshifter, @lemurcat, @popcornfrommars, @podunkmouse + anyone else who wants to!