CraftyArtWorld has updated the gallery section to include a portfolio of some of Artist Anika's best and/or favorite peices (with a few exceptions excluded due to mature content). In celebration of this new addition, I've created a special graphic just for the portfolio. It is designed to match the colors and layout of all the other graphics of this site:
I hope everyone enjoys the new graphic (which has been added to the CraftyArtWorld homepage) and portfolio. If you are a frequent visitor here and have a favorite piece of artwork that you feel should be shown in the portfolio, feel free to leave a comment and let me know. If you are a first time viewer...well, I hope you enjoy the art anyway. As always, constructive criticism and outright praise is welcome and encourages: Note the little comment box at the bottom of the portfolio. Hint Hint. Nudge Nudge.
I give you, Severus Snape of The Half-Blood Prince. Click to enlarge.
I'd like to thank everyone who I annoyed into giving me feedback: particularly Jonathan and my fiance (my fiance for putting up with me the most and Jonathan for helping me the most). I've darkened Severus' cheek and jaw and lightened the other areas of his face to make him look younger. I also darkened the highlights in the hair and widened the shoulders. Plus adding a background.
I'm not going to explain the background that I chose to do, as I don't want to give anything away to any sad little person who hasn't read the book or seen the movie. However, I will share my reference shots below for anyone who is interested.
This image was found in a Google Image search. Not sure who the original owner or artist of this Dark Mark was, but Google pulled the image from someone's MySpace page (which really means the original image could have come from anywhere). If anyone happens to know the artist, I'd love to know. In the meantime, the MySpace page it was pulled from belongs to Bannanas In Pajamas.
This image was actually one of the chapter images from the actual book. I'm sure I could look up the artist, but I'm too lazy. If you're curious, do your own Googling. Just know it isn't mine.
If you'd like to see the reference shot of Severus, check out my previous two blog posts.
P.S. Below is a gallery of the products used to create this sketch, along with a description of how and why each were used.
Hm. He's coming along, but there are still some problems with him that I'm not sure about. His shoulders don't appear wide enough, he still looks too old, and his forehead is too short. Also, I need to touch up the shading on his robes and hair (the highlights are too bright and make his hair look like it's greying). Jaw needs some more definition too.
I'm gonna sleep on it and hopefully will be able to better it tomorrow.
P.S. Any ideas on a background would be greatly appreciated. Not sure what I'll do with it yet.
Second in-progress shot of my Severus Snape portrait. He's coming along nicely, if I do say so myself. Tomorrow, I'll be starting the hardest part of the portrait. Skin tones are somewhat simpler for me to shade, as I've had a lot of practice with them. However, black hair is another issue altogether for me.
I have major issues with using black in a drawing; have never really gotten the hang of proper shading with it. And Severus, of course, has black hair on top of a black cloak on top of a black vest-thingy....basically, a lot of black on black. That's where things are going to get interesting for me.
We'll just have to see how it goes. Can't get better at it if I don't practice.
In the meantime, check out the progress so far:
P.S. Yes, I realize this picture is too chubby. I need to fix his neck and jawline (as well as the one cheek which is furthest from us). That is also on my list of things to do with him tomorrow.
I'm horrible with commitment, which is something that you may have already discovered about me through the reading of this blog.
I get so many ideas and commit to them enough to put them to paper (er...computer screen, as the case may be), but deep inside I know that if I don't pick up that pencil and get it started, the project is likely to fall by the wayside. That said, I must admit that despite the beach pictures I promised my lovely Twitter followers that I had fully planned to work on over the weekend...I was distracted. What can I say, I am a woman of passions which don't always take her where she plans. Don't hate me. ^.~
So, what actually happened this weekend was that I watched the Harry Potter movies 4 and 5; I had watched 1-3 last weekend. This was in preporation for seeing 6 today. The Half-Blood Prince. Loved it. A lot. Which is saying something because I hated all of the previous movies.
I'm a bit obsessed with the books, you see, and the movies stray so far from them (not to mention the previous bad acting in them) that it upsets me to watch them. But this one was definitely worth seeing.
I both love and hate book/movie 6. Don't worry, I won't be giving any spoilers here. Simply stating that The Half-Blood Prince (whether movie or book) is horrible to two of my favorite characters: Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy. What can I say, I am a Slytherin at heart. I enjoy a Slytherin's cunning, not to mention their particular form of bravery and loyalty (which they are never recognized for). I also enjoy their fierce independence and their commitment to their goals. Anyway...
After watching movie 6 tonight, my passions got the better of me and pushed aside a serene beach picture. Instead, I offer up to your viewing pleasure, the beginning of a Severus Snape portrait. True, this isn't original or even ingenius. But really, what is in this day and age?
As you can see, beneath the sketch I have started is the reference image that I am using. Though it probably goes without saying, I feel the need to point out that this is merely a first installment of an in-progress picture. There is much within this sketch that still needs work (besides the obvious shading that needs finishing).
I also wanted to share with you another piece of art. This one was found while I was looking for a good reference picture of Severus. I fell in love with the piece and so am sharing it now. Please note that the below image was created by Malla13 from DeviantArt and is in no way mine. Just admired by me.
That's all I have for you tonight. I will post more of my portrait as it is completed. As always, helpful criticism and comments are always welcome and appreciated.
Last week, I created a present for the wonderful Robin Nester, a unique and Twitter bird specially for her. After a request, I have since updated this bird for my other commenter: Marie of Buzzing Kids World. The new bird matches the color scheme found at Buzzing Kids World. I also updated the original bird to make the Twitter account name easier to read.
Below are the results. Click them to see the larger, slightly different versions.
Aren't they cute?
Special Note for Marie and Robin: right click them and save them for your pleasure. ^.^ Congradulations on the birth of your new baby birdies. Enjoy!
"Boredom is not an end-product, is comparatively rather an early stage in life and art. You've got to go by or past or through boredom, as through a filter, before the clear product emerges." ---F. Scott Fitzgerald
I've been sick for the last few days, during which I had every intention of drawing. I even started a peice that is currently little more than an outline in my sketchbook. However, being sick, I couldn't get my brain to focus on anything as consuming as art.
It wasn't until tonight that my concentration (and a significant amount of boredom) finally brought pen to hand. And of course, what could be better tonight than making a personalized Twitter button? I know I've made a few of these previously, but I wanted to make one specifically for my personal use, rather than the more generic ones of before. More like the ones on British Movie Classics and Broadway Musical Nut.
I did a little searching around and looking at different styles. Then, finally came up with the below image.
Thoughts? Opinions?
I'll probably go back in and adjust the coloring on the bird at some point. He's a little rough right now. I also don't know that I like how the tongue turned out. I have a nasty habit of biting my tongue when I concentrate (something my fiance forever teases me about) so thought it'd be cute for my bird to do the same...unfortunately the tongue turned out looking more like a worm hanging out of it's mouth. *Sigh*
As it is, it is nearly midnight and my cold medicine is kicking in....so I'll call him temporarily complete. We'll play with him a bit more at a later time and see what I can do to fix him up. Oh, and if you're interested in seeing the original sketch (before I stuck the bird into Photoshop and worked my magic) here it is:
Feedback is always welcome and appreciated. Especially as I still want to tidy this up before I officially decide it is complete. So if you see anything wrong or just off about it, I'd highly appreciate the heads up.
Buzz it!
