Skadamo # 28 Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Have a lovely celebration with family and friends! Will update more skadamo sketches when I have my proper technology after my vacation.

Skadamo # 25 Off and Away!

Well we will be bringing Thanksgiving to my mom this year, me and the turkey that is. When I am away, I hope I can continue to post! Have a lovely time off this week to enjoy with family and friends!

Skadamo #24 Dolphin Personality

 Today's sketch of the day is inspired by a silly link that I saw on facebook today "What's Your Animal Personality type?" and remembered that I had scored an ENFP on the Myer's Briggs test in high school. The site displays an animal that fits that personality trait, now of course you don't have to believe in any of it but it was fun to look at. My ENFP results came up with a dolphin. The description included: Creative, contagiously happy, boundless energy, and vivacious which fits my personality quite well. What kind of animal are you? Oh yeah, watch out for the guy in the middle, he may be the reason there was some yellow in the kiddie pool...

Pool Party 6x5" Watercolor/ Digital Touch Ups

Skadamo # 23 The Dark Crystal Speed Paintings

I gotta tell you, these spit (speed) paintings are really teaching me some things about simplification. Also, that I need to work on contrast. These are some 30 minute digital speed paintings on scenes from the Dark Crystal, one of my favorite movies from childhood. 

Skadamo #21 & 22 Headache Cat and Digital

Here are sketches to cover yesterday and today. I got home late and felt like this, with a heaping headache so I went straight to bed. I have been around many coughers lately, so I am fighting it! Below shows also a continuation of digital work I did today. Thanks for looking! Stay well in this chilly season!

Headache cat- ink/watercolor 1.5x2"

Another quick 30 minute digital study

A monochromatic scene from the Space Riding Hood Story

Skadamo # 20 Spit-Painting

No, this painting isn't made of spit, silly! Continuing with the exercise from digital painting (explained in this previous post), here is another practice 35 minute digital study.

Skadamo #19 Aboriginal

This skech of the day was inspired by an art history video that I showed to a class today about storytelling in artwork throughout history, including in aboriginal art. It turns out music is a strong element that goes along with the artwork to tell the story. Do you know any facts about aboriginal art?

watercolor and charcoal

Skadamo # 18 Hibernation

Colored Pencil and Watercolor 6x5

Something about the cold makes me want to be a hibernating polar bear, how about you?

Skadamo # 17 Organizing

Mostly I got a lot of organizing done this weekend. I organized my desk, kitchen pantry, and worked in the garden preparing it for the new vegetable planters ( my fingers still hurt from the roses, naughty roses!) We also bought some rocks from the landscaping place (It feels weird to BUY rocks) to surround the planters with. There is still more to do, but little by little, right? I illustrated today's kitchen organizing returning to traditional watercolor (yes, my kitchen is tiny).

Ink and Watercolor 6.5x5.5"

sketch

Skadamo #16 More Digital Painting

The theme today is spit painting! There is a group on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1402563099961950/ that does daily spit paintings which are basically timed 30 minute paintings. My teacher decided to extend this idea to our digital painting class, so we did 3- 30 minute spit paintings today, looking at a reference picture. I have to say, it makes me feel like I can't paint, but it is a great way to strengthen digital painting skills and be able to get the hang of an efficient process, keeping things simple while making it look like a photo from far away. I am a bit embarrassed to show my 1st spit paintings, but here they are! I apologize, sources are unknown as I saved from pinterest and did not get a name of the artists. If you know who they are, please let me know so I can give credit. Thanks for looking!

Spit painting # 1

Skadamo # 15 Digital Painting Study

Our assignment for this week was to do a color study for our character, this old Kodachrome transparency done in 1942 by Alfred Palmer of this army tank driver looked like the perfect inspiration for my Sci Fi Red Riding Hood character in her spaceship. Here is the source and many other cool photos: http://pavelkosenko.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/4x5-kodachromes/. Tomorrow I will use this study to create a sketch of my character. I may add some more contrast, I noticed some shadows need to be darker. Stay tuned!  

Skadamo #14 Is it Winter?

Seems like everywhere else it is real winter except for here in Southern California. Not complaining, just feels a bit odd. Today's temperature was 88^°F.

Skadamo # 13 Haiyan Hell

This is a bit darker than usual. I have been listening to NPR in the car on the aftermath of the Haiyan typhoon that tore Philippine towns such as Tacloban to rubble and displaced and killed thousands. I decided to do a quick conceptual sketch that was inspired by the photo below. I imagine writing the words help while seeing there is no help coming. Here is some of the information: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/11/13/245002340/a-typhoons-devastation-by-the-numbers and here is how you can help: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/11/12/244702268/typhoon-haiyan-how-to-help.

"Hell" Digital Concept Sketch

Photo from the news that inspired this piece, source unknown.

Skadamo 11-12-13!

Today I subbed the same 4th grade class as Friday and it was great! This age is just sooo creative! I snuck in a superhero character lesson and this is about how it went. The kids LOVE art! I am glad I can offer it as an extra treat. The kids helped me come up with 2 superheroes that are on the board. One, tuxedo wearing fantasticat that has the strength of the universe and the cape wearing lazer eyed doggo hero. What fun! Well, if I didn't have to wake up early and teach again I would color this in, maybe another time!

Skadamo #11 Spinach Heart

I found a spinach heart in my salad today so I decided to make an art piece out of it with this strange digital technique of scanning vegetables and making a garden for this bunny. We also cut some wood today to make my new garden planters so I am definitely getting into the idea of growing a fall/winter crop. Here, in Southern California it doesn't get very cold so it is doable! Very excited to start gardening!

Skadamo #10 Drawing Cat

Drawing, Drawing, Here we are! Painting, Painting, Woo woo woo! (Am I tired?, yes I am) Here is the skadamo sketch of the day! I wanted to update my facebook pictures so I drew these. I always draw myself as a cat. The drawing cat is done using corel painter and cat portrait done using photoshop- though it shut down 5 times during the process, I don't know what is wrong with it but I am trying to save a lot!

Skadamo #9: Lei-ka color study

This is what I worked on for digital painting class today, based off of the color study I did previously: http://hsoodak.blogspot.com/2013/11/color-study-for-digital-painting-class.html
I learned how to add more value with this technique so I will update it with a stronger piece once I explore this technique further of layering color on top of the value piece seen below. The character is Lil' Miss Red's sidekick Lei-ka riding on his jet-pack. Looking at my Skadamo sketches so far, they are kind of all over the place technique wise, because I am really at the stage where I am playing and learning with different techniques so I can really be versatile and apply what I have learned to my usual  (traditional) techniques. I am really having lots of fun, you can never stop exploring and learning!

Skadamo #8 : "Beautiful and Dangerous"

Here is a sketch from the digital class I am auditing, the theme is sci-fi space cowboy Little Red Riding Hood. I created a thumbnail based on "beautiful and dangerous". Here Lil' Miss Red is ready for danger, with her trusty sidekick Kei-ka!

Skadamo # 7 Duck Duck Goose!

Today's sketch of the day: Duck duck GOOSE! 

sketch

Inspired by:

Lane Smith and Jon Scieszka from The Stinky Cheeseman.

Beatrix Potter from Aunt Jemima Puddle Duck

Skadmo # 6 Beeeee Yourself #2

Inspired by this show I watched today, The Voice!

Skadamo # 5 Capy Birthday!

Skadamo Sketch of the Day! Another Birthday, you say? Why, yes! My lovely husband Chris's Birthday is today and he requested a capybara reading and smoking a pipe. I added the scottish part. Capy Birthday, love!

Skadamo #4 Happy Birthday Mom!

Here is my skadamo sketch of the day for my mom, it is her birthday, and she recently moved to the middle of town from living out in the middle of nowhere most of her life, how exciting! So here is a sketch and a silly little poem about it:

Mother, Mother 

you are so grand

moving to a whole

new land

away from the quiet countryside

to the rustle bustle of 

town life

Happy, happy you will be

so much to do, so much to see!

Skadamo #3 Sunday Sketch Day!

 Today was a great day to sketch though I woke up at 5 and only got about 4 hours of sleep I felt fine! Silly daylight savings time! I spent the day working on a project, but am not able to post the pictures now. So, here are a couple of warm-up sketches of my little guy, Darwin sleeping.

Skadamo #2 Color Study for Digital Painting Class

Well I am still in the computer lab at Laguna College of Art and Design after auditing the digital painting class since my computer at home is not working and have been working on the new assignment, which is a color study. I am not quite sure if I did it right, we were supposed to copy the picture only in black and white, and then add color on top of the value layer. Next step to this exercise is to apply this type of color/value studied to my own sketch. Once I figure out exactly how this works, it is going to be a very efficient way to work! That is the one thing that I have been learning in this class, is how to simplify effectively, which is necessary if you have a short deadline but also can be difficult so I am glad I am practicing! I am doing this color study on artist Todd Harris (link) whom was used as a fantastic example of an artist that uses color effectively. 

In-Progress Color Study of Todd Harris

More Work by Todd Harris

There is an interview with Todd Harris here along with interviews on other artists:
http://uberartists.blogspot.com/2011/08/todd-harris-blog-httphog-heaven.html

Now, time for a late late dinner!

Monthly Commitments

Hooray!
It's time for skaDaMo (sketch a day month) AND NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month)!!

Last Year I did PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) but this time I need to keep discipline on sketching, and start to possibly write to expand on those ideas, or write to practice writing (No matter how exhausted I am like right now!)

Here is my sort of messy charcoal sketch for Halloween:

Pit-ter Pat-ter 

feet-a-clatter 

down the hallo

path of treats and

shadows

surprized to find 

a wizard passing out....

real stars!