Birdman! Dun dun dun

Usually when I think of harpies, I think of ladies. But why not dudes? I know traditionally, myths describe them as having lady parts, at least sort of, but I think male harpies are just as cool. I didn't use a reference photo, not my best idea... so the wings and legs are weird. I snatched up some good reference photos, though, for next time.

Anyway, I imagined him perched up on some cliff side somewhere, watching over folks and playing some important role in the environmental dynamics... maybe he's an environmental surveyor of some kind hah.

with love - M

#artfail: how NOT to sketch

So, I got a Surface Pro 3. And I stole got Photoshop. And I fucking tried. And then this #artfail happened.

Ding Ding Doodlie Doo

Soooooo... I've been.... um. Out of the loop. Been waiting for a new graphic tab (I have my heart set on a cintiq companion2, but me and my bank account are filing for divorce, so....). Anyway.

After a night of my arthritic spine beating my ass, I decided to chug some  wine and brush up on skills I do not have. *violins*

Have any of you watched Attack on Titan/Snk (or read the manga)? If not, then... awesome, because then this is just a random male :) I don't do well with male characters, and that's just not very fair of me, so I'm kind of working on anatomy right now, getting into the hang of body placement,  proportion, etc. If I'm gonna get a super expensive wacom baby, I have to earn it, so I have to do better. Draw better. Or else it's wasted on me.

Not the best job, I know. I've got a long ways to go before I catch up to you guys. But, hey, we all gotta start somewhere.

It's not a centaur, but I'll get back to working on those when I get both male and female anatomy down without it looking like some 3 year old traced over a stick figure.

So. Um. Enjoy?

</AWKWARD BABBLING>

Harpy concept - priestess

It took WEEKS to finish this sketch. Not because it was so intensive but just because I had no time. I started it and thought I had finished it but then my BF commented that it wasn't quite right. I agreed and pondered on it day after day, waiting for some time to just SIT STILL for 15 minutes and finish up this sketch. So here it is. Finished it while watching Hocus Pocus hehe.

I'm not sure why but I like the idea of harpies being priestesses to the gods. Kind of like an pre-christian idea of angels. But I imagine harpies as being more...gray. Not good but not evil. They do the gods bidding and maintain the great temples or something. Guard the relics, preside over sacrifices, light the sacred candles.

Anyway, let me know what ya'll think about harpies - pertaining to my idea or just harpies in general. Keep up the great work everyone! I love seeing all the ideas!

with love - M

Medusa Gorgon Sketch

So... the ever-productive Meredith has inspired what's been a cathartic and mildly productive evening of sketching. Here's the result!

Not a terrible amount of thought went into this one as I'm reverting slightly to a more traditional portrayal of the creature. I guess I was most inspired by stories suggesting Medusa was formerly a lover of Poseidon -- thus the water-like characteristics.

I'm not sure I'm married to this style, so I'll likely explore something different next round. Cheers!

Moose Man

Real quick n' dirty sketch, so not very neat. I wanted to try my hand at moosey antlers. BEHOLD.

Fawn Sketch... more practice!

Practice number two. I wanted to try doing a leggy fawn to contrast the relatively stocky goat satyr. I think her arms ended up looking a little short but that might just be 'cuz her upper half is not as stretched out as her lower half. Anyway, here it is.

Satyr

I'm Nathalie, and I'm drawing satyrs apparently. I will probably deviate from just goat/fawn/human combos though so.... we'll see.

Anywho, here's a sketch I did to start off and remind myself how to satyr.

She has kinda short legs but I was going for short because goats aren't the leggiest of creatures. More to come.

wut

I... have mo idea what im dowing but im doing a think so i fuigured id share thisan thiang I dong know im doing. also super drunk. pictures!

[edit] And then this one is a drawing of my buddy Karen, who wanted to be a cartoon.

Regenerator: Basic Shapes & Spaces

Started my unorthodox approach to my take on video-game mythology's Resider Evil 4 Regenerator. I'm not a professional but I'm really going to put my heart into this one simply to keep making art period. I begin by sketching up a starter sketch on ipad's Sketchbook Pro. I try to focus on the most basic shapes and spaces. Once I've finished the rough sketch, I clean it up and assign zones. I originally had lines but removed them once my elements were where I wanted them to be. I took the image into photoshop and will begin the next stage. Once I'm done with the head, I'll do the same with the basic body shape and stance. This will be the most challenging and fun because these creatures are awkward and disproportionate, so I look forward to having a bit of freedom in that regard.

I explored more into perspective as well, and mocked up a simple off-kilter hall I want to have the Regenerator in. I look forward so much to the detailing of the hallway and background. Now that background is just a sample, I'll be creating a more custom backdrop. I do want the perspective a bit skewed. I feel it'll add an eeriness to it.

So tomorrow I'll be moving onto facial structure a bit more and putting more elements in place, like eye sockets, teeth. Once I've established each element's respected zones, I'll be more compelled to warp and interpret this creature with my

Inspiration: Illustrator Rachael Edwards

While many of us contributing to this project are choosing to work initially with pen, pencil and paper (or the digital equivalent), illustrator Rachel Edwards uses linotype and collage to achieve a unique result.

I love the simplicity; the texture; and bold, flat colors of her characters! If bedsheets patterned with her monster collage were available, I know they'd be on my holiday wish list.

One can page through her mythical creature collection, hosted on her site, here. Enjoy!

Fail Friday: Derpasaur

Hey guys, Bianca here. Soooooo, I've been working with the fantabulous Kristy to, you know, learn how to draw, and she gave me some amazing pointers and was generally amazingly helpful, but since I'm a derpasaur, I'd like to show you how talented I am NOT.

Feast your eyes!

I don't even know

What is this?!

Cellulite Centaur

Medusa Gorgon Concept

Without a direct reference, my figure sketches are typically challenged; but I'm genuinely pleased with the results using tips from previous tutorials.
I'm playing with concepts related to Gorgons. I want to continue to tie in more details surrounding the legends. For now, however, it was a fun excuse to start sketching.




Admittedly, the character's tail feels a bit odd to me, but I definitely wanted to include some beastly attributes and wasn't keen on making the bottom half that of a snake, as so often portrayed. Perhaps, I'll explore that option later.

For future concepts, I may wish to play with more monster-ly attributes. In this version, I was imagining her as a confident, powerful and dangerous being and looked a bit to the Batman character Poison Ivy for a reference. Unlike popular lore, I imagine this Medusa character would only turn those to stone when direct eye contact would be made and she would otherwise be venomous. Perhaps more distinct and bright, snake-like markings would've made this more evident.

Back-to-Basics Tutorial Round-Up

Nsio explains it all in ... a back-to-basics round-up!

As I prepare myself for my artistic goals (I promise, team, I'll choose my topic soon!), I'm gathering a set of useful tools and references to help me along the way. So, here's a small collection of my favorite, recent discoveries courtesy of DeviantArt member, Nsio.

• Proportions
  The classic eight-head height proportions and a fine reminder in symmetry (ahhh, symmetry, that elusive beast).
• Simplifying Complexity
  The invisible box, adding middle-lines to assist in defining planes, and... shapes!
• Line Dynamics
  "In reality, there are no lines at all."
• Dynamism
  A lovely intro to giving life to even those action-less portraits

Enjoy!

Inspiration: The Anatomical Work of Masao Kinoshita

Meredith's most recent Harpy post left me asking, "how might one design a convincingly anatomically-correct human-animal hybrid?"

While some legendary creatures -- the unicorn, for example -- have real-world "cousins" to reference, many mythical beings don't even follow what we know as the rules of nature (though I would be interested in seeing a mammal with six functioning and naturally-formed appendages).

For those of similar curiosity, my most recent internet searches produced the fantastical work of Masao Kinoshita, a Japanese sculptor. Kinoshita masterfully gives a somewhat exaggerated yet believable form to both mythical creatures and deities.

I suppose that finding solutions to these questions is part of the fun for any artist, but hats off to artists like Masao Kinoshita who render these forms so beautifully.

Flanks, Tails & Nether Trails

dat flank, yo.

 So... there's no real excuse for this. There's a centaur, some random ass Charmander chick drunk as fuck, and then there's a weeble-doodle of Merlin and Morgana randomly running somewhere. My brain doesn't know what logic is.

Don't ask. I have no idea.

An exercise in bodies in motion. Dem hands, though.

A feather for your trouble - harpy sketch

Feathers be hard. I totally ran out of space on the page, too, so the wings are way shorter than the probably should be. But I think all things considered, it turned out alright. I've done harpies before but it's always a challenge because I'm not well-versed in the structure of birds so I think this will be my chosen creature, if no one else objects. I know some other folks involved haven't posted anything yet so if you had your heart set on doing harpies, speak now! So I can find something even more of a challenge... like selkies or something. Regardless, I'm pumped to see everyone's ideas! Don't be shy!

-Meredith

Gnome in Shade

I'm sure in some way you can thank my parents for this one. Their years of painting Kris Kringle-themed crafts, illustrating leafy Green Man figures and sketching gnarly elfish beings have certainly influenced my drawing "comfort zone" as it pertains to subject matter. I suppose that for context it's worth knowing that I come from a home where crafting contributed to our family's income and where newspapers were regularly subject to creative vandalism.

Anywho, I present to you this small sketch as evidence of the beginning of this artistic journey and as a rather accurate example of my "comfort zone."

My hopes are to abandon the typical subject matter and to deviate from my habits of over-sketching, in favor of cleaner, expressive and intentional lines; I hope to work on my ability to introduce action into scenes; better develop compositions as a whole; and brush up on all those fundamentals like perspective, form, lighting, proportions, etc. Ultimately, I'd like to have better control of my drawings. So, farewell, gnomes (for now)! And, onward! 

Tutorials: Skin!

While this guide has been around for a while, DeviantArt member acidlullaby's
skin tutorial still proves to be a concise and wonderful collection of considerations for rendering skin. I can't wait to put these suggestions to practice!

Click here for the full tutorial.

Centaur Selfie

"Dat flank though."

Original

Here's a warm-up thing I made for the ding-dong-doodly-dump. Well, I made other things for the thing, but this thing has a shittily drawn shitty iPhone and I thought that was fun.

I think it looked better before I gave it hair and eyes and stuff.

Inspiration: Vanilla pudding.
Instruments: Mechanical pencil, dollar-store sketchpad, tears of babies.

Auto-enhanced via Google Auto-Backup shit.