Day One Hundred Thirteen

I cheated.

Today, I broke the rules.

Scratch that, I bent them.

Now, before you click away in disgust at this blogger’s shedding of artistic integrity, would you like to know what happened?

Since this is really a one-way conversation, and I’d like the chance to explain myself, I’ll go ahead and tell you anyway even if you really don’t care to know.

So, it goes like this...

I collect my ripped and pathetic dictionary from its resting place on the floor under the couch (what a poor abused little book) and stop on the first page I come to. My eyes rest on not one, but two words! Both incredible, both great sources of inspiration, both incredibly fitting! This is where I bend the rules a little...I read the definitions, I ponder, I brood...and I PICK one of them. Although the words are intended to be chosen randomly (so as to keep this artist on her toes) I believe making the choice between “flounder” and “flounce” was a necessary and meaningful one.

flounce n. A gathered piece of material attached to the upper edge of another surface, as on a curtain. v. To move with exaggerated tosses of the body.

I illustrated a strong, determined character to incorporate the choice between “flounder” and “flounce”. Despite a certain amount of floundering, I wanted today’s character to choose to flounce. To choose the light, the airy, the bubbly, over the frustration, fear, and discontent.

As usual, the hemline came up a bit short (I tend to draw the mile long legs last and, as such, have no way in which to cover them up to a decent height.) but I like the way this turned out. I incorporated my new favorite shade of orange, adding bits of pink into it to redden it up and make it blend more successfully with the bright raspberry color of the rest of the dress.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post, and can someday forgive me for rearranging a few rules.

As always, thank you for reading.

Xx

-r

Day Ninety Nine

Sleepy, sleepy!! I am looking forward to the St. Patrick’s Day parade tomorrow and...100 days at The Ink Drop! Woah! I can’t believe it’s been this long. At the same time, though, it seems to have flown by. So, because it is late and I seem to be exhausted, I will get to the post...

I think I have started a trend (can it be called a trend after two days?) of creating art very loosely based on the words I am “given”. I actually kind of enjoy the freedom.

gen-er-ous adj. Sharing freely; abundant; overflowing.

This one sort of stumped me. Maybe at 10 at night I’m a little less capable of coming up with something interesting, but I just wasn’t sure what to do with today’s word. I couldn’t get the idea of generous in the sense of “a generous amount” out of my head, though. Unsure of where exactly that would lead me, I began to draw.

I added a HUGE amount of hair at the top of her head; I have become a serious fan of the “messy topknot” hairstyle lately:

Anyways, I added this hairstyle to my character to convey a sense of a “generous amount”. Then, I decided to add a flowing robe. After I’d finished the robe, I used pastels to add a little color and help add some shading to the hair and robe.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post! Thanks for reading.

Xx

-r

Day Ninety Six

That was one quick weekend! It’s strange, though; I find myself looking forward to the enormous amount of work this week is sure to present. I can see the end of the insanity (at least schedule-wise...much of the insanity is probably here to stay) and am ecstatic to be finishing this year of schooling around two months ahead of schedule (sorry, people, this much work requires a little bragging). Today was one of those days in this blog that I plan, before beginning, to “just get it over with” and make something quick and easy. This was also one of those days that I was swept up in it all and fell deeper in love with art. What was going to be a quick pencil sketch before bed turned quickly into a full-on project with research, careful shading, color, and *gasp* A HAND!

house-coat n.  A woman’s informal garment to be worn around the house.

Although I already knew what a house coat was, I did a little research to get ideas about styling in order to do a glamorous, vintage take on today’s word. Immediately after reading today’s word, I thought of a very sophisticated woman who, although she was simply lounging around, did not in any way lose her glamour or beauty. In fact, I tend to think that an effortless, raw look intensifies it.

I took photos throughout drawing today’s piece in order to show the steps taken to create it.

I began, as usual, with a pencil sketch and then inked it to increase the definition.

After this, I took a bit of black pastel smudged on a q-tip and did some shading.

Finally, I took another q-tip, this time with red pastel on it, and colored her “house coat”. After several layers of pastel to get the color correct, I was finished.

I am very pleased with the way this turned out; I have never before drawn a character in this position.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post; thank you for reading.

Xx

-r

Day Eighty Five

Oh, it’s a late night. Today, I worked over at the Auntie’s house. Having recently taken a class on bookmaking, she taught me how to make my very own reporter’s notebook!!

We used a couple of giant (scary) clamps to keep the paper straight, and glued it on one end.

Then, she guided me through gluing the cover to the pages!

She even made one (much, much nicer) herself!

I can’t wait to use my brand new notebook! To see what she’s been up to, check out her page; “MacKomics Studio” on Facebook!

Today was very productive, as I managed to get another sketch completed:

Now for today’s post...

I had never heard of today’s word before and, frankly, didn’t think it sounded all that great. After a little Google image search, I had cleared up some confusion and was ready to sketch.

snood n. A type of band that can be worn in a woman’s hair.

I began drawing a woman’s head from behind, showing her wearing a “snood”. Not wanting to stop there, I drew the rest of her. As I kept drawing, I decided to create a fitted dress that was interesting and classic at the same time.

I left the dress partially backless; I like the contrast between the eye-catching openness of the back of the dress and the prim and proper look of the buttons all the way down. I added a polka-dotted bow to the top of the “snood” to give it a little extra decoration.

After I’d inked the drawing, and gotten a consultation, I decided to use pastels to color the dress (and the bow) a deep, red wine color. I layered red pastel over gray to darken it a little, and blended it with q-tips.

I really like the way this came out; I’m very happy with the way the color came out. I’m not sure I would change this drawing if I could, so I guess that is a good sign.

I hope you enjoyed this post; thank you for reading!

Have a great night!

Xx

-r

Day Eighty Four

Apologies in advance for the short post-I won’t bore you with the details of falling behind on my pushed-to-the-limit, self-planned school schedule. As much as I would like to work solely on The Ink Drop, this is not yet possible. For now, we press on.

I was reminded of a corny joke I’d heard in elementary school by today’s word. Remember the one that goes “What’s black, white and read all over?” (a newspaper) As sigh-inducing as it is, I’ve always liked the confusion that comes with...

hom-o-phone n. One of two or more words that have the same sound but different spelling, origin and meaning.

For today’s piece, I took a version of my bad joke and illustrated it. I used two shades of pastel to give it a little variation. (And learned just how difficult it is to wash pastel form your fingertips...) Can you guess the words?

Thank you for reading; I hope you have a great night!

Xx

-r

Day Sixty Nine

I believe that I have a love-hate relationship with Valentine’s Day. Being an absolute girly-girl at heart, I love the opportunities (in fashion and art) for cuteness that Valentine’s Day brings. On the other hand, the forced and awkward nature of this holiday has always frustrated me. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but create a Valentine’s-y sketch for today’s piece.

tights pl., n. A skintight stretchable garment, covering the lower half of the body.

As I was looking around for a piece of paper on which to create today’s piece, my eyes passed over the pile of Valentine-making supplies lying on the floor. Sifting through the pile, I happened upon a cute little white doily with the perfect amount of clean, white space at the center. Perfect! Having had my fill of the color red, I decided to keep it simple and go with my staple: black and white.

I wanted to illustrate a few different kinds of tights with this piece, so I chose three different patterns. I hope you enjoyed today’s post and had a fun Valentine’s Day.

Thank you for reading!

Xx

-r

Day Forty Eight

Ooh...late post. Spent the whole day working on school stuff. Darn. I did manage to ink a drawing, though:

Anyway, I really liked today’s word because it reminded me of a relative of mine. She sort of embodies this word. Although it was impossible to capture the true level of “bubbly” that is this cousin of mine, but I really tried. Alright, let’s get to the word:

jaun-ty  adj.  Having a buoyantly carefree and self-confident air or matter about oneself.

No matter the circumstances, she is always incredibly upbeat. I have always been inspired by her to be more jaunty. I just did a simple sketch in pencil for today’s word. I added a little color for the mouth and hair to make it pop.

I’m not entirely satisfied with this piece; it is much, much harder to capture a real person’s personality in a drawing than it is to just create your own character. Sounds like a good exercise for later!

Thanks for reading!! Hope you have a great night!

Xx

-r

Day Forty Three

We got dumped on today:

packed  adj.  To be filled to capacity.

This word made me think of a mind. You know, when your brain is running a million miles per hour, and it feels too full? That’s sort of how I ran today.

 I took a print from a run I had done, where the paint had leaked a little outside of the border and used it for today’s piece. I really liked the “drip” effect created by the paint leaking outside the border.

Although it may not be very aesthetically pleasing, it felt good to make today’s piece. 

I used the word “packed” for the border and the words packed, filled, loaded, crowded, and stuffed for the inside. I used pink pastel to add a little energy.  

Day Thirty Three

I am steadily approaching what I believe could be an artistic breakthrough. If not, at least I will have attempted to explore the many styles and techniques in the area of silk screening. We shall see...

Before I sink into bed, I will tell you a little about today’s project.

tan-gly  adj.  To be full of tangles.

Maybe it’s just the influence of the Doors phase I seem to currently be stuck in but I thought of a wild, tangle-haired child. 

I decided to draw just this. For some reason, in the time between completing the first drawing and beginning today’s piece, my artistic skills seemed to take a nosedive. Oh well, you get the idea...